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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


^^2625  .J6 

^oint  Committee 


Survey  of 

J^’stian  literature  in 


Ch 
Mo 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
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The  Committee  on  Social  and  Religions  Sur¬ 
veys,  which  is  responsible  for  this  publication, 
was  organised  in  January,  ip2i.  The  Commit¬ 
tee  conducts  and  publishes  studies  and  surveys 
and  promotes  conferences  for  their  considera¬ 
tion.  Its  aim  is  to  combine  the  scientific  method 
with  the  religious  motive.  It  cooperates  with 
other  social  and  religious  agencies,  but  is  itself 
an  independent  organization. 

The  Committee  is  composed  of:  John  R. 
Mott,  Chairman;  Ernest  D.  Burton,  Secretary; 
Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  Treasurer;  James  L.  Bar¬ 
ton;  W.  H.  P.  Faunce,  and  Kenyon  L.  Butter¬ 
field.  Galen  M.  Fisher  is  Executive  Secretary. 
The  offices  are  at  j/o  Seventh  Avenue,  New 
York  City, 


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Vi 


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LITERATURE  IN  THE  DESERT 


There  are  a  Number  of  Literates  Even  Among  the  Bedawi 


’bi 


I 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 
IN  MOSLEM  LANDS 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  ACTIVITIES  OF 
THE  MOSLEM  AND  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 
IN  ALL  MOHAMMEDAN  COUNTRIES 


Prepared  by 

A  JOINT  COMMITTEE  APPOINTED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF 
REFERENCE  AND  COUNSEL  OF  THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
CONFERENCE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  AND  THE  COM¬ 
MITTEE  ON  SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SURVEYS 


V 

V 

L  ■■  r.  f  ? 

'  - 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 


NEW 


YORK 


GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1923, 

BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  MOSLEM  LANDS.  I 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PREFACE 


The  Survey  of  Christian  Literature  for  Moslems  'which  is 
presented  in  this  volume  was  made  under  the  auspices  of  a 
special  committee  appointed  jointly  by  the  Committee  of  Refer¬ 
ence  and  Counsel  of  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North 
America,  which  represents  the  foreign  missionary  agencies  of 
North  America,  and  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious 
Surveys,  which  generously  provided  the  funds  required  for 
making  the  survey.  The  chairman  of  this  special  committee 
was  the  Rev.  Cornelius  H.  Patton,  D.D.,  and  its  secretaries 
were  the  Rev.  Charles  R.  Watson,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Frank 
W.  Bible. 

While  the  proposal  originated  in  America  and  the  commit¬ 
tee  appointed  was  mainly  American,  it  was  recognised  from  the 
very  outset  that  the  investigation  was  bound  to  be  international 
in  scope  and  outlook.  Accordingly,  a  portion  of  the  Survey 
was  entrusted  to  the  Committee  on  Christian  Literature  in  the 
Mission  Field  of  the  Conference  of  Missionary  Societies  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  consultative  members  were  ap¬ 
pointed  representing  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent;  and  all 
field  committees  were  requested  to  secure,  in  their  membership, 
an  adequate  representation  of  the  different  national  groups 
working  in  their  fields. 

The  Moslem  world,  stretching  from  Morocco  on  the  West 
to  the  Philippine  Islands  on  the  East,  was  divided  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  the  Survey  into  twelve  areas,  a  field  committee  being 
appointed  for  each  of  these  areas.  The  chairmen  of  these 
several  field  committees  constituted  the  General  Field  Commit¬ 
tee  of  which  the  Rev.  F.  W.  McCallum,  D.D.  became 
chairman. 

The  lines  on  which  the  Survey  was  to  be  made  were  first 
carefully  outlined  by  the  Committee  in  America  in  the  light  of 

[v] 


PREFACE 


the  rich  experience  already  gained  from  similar  surveys  in 
Japan,  in  China  and,  particularly,  in  India.  For  reasons  that 
need  not  be  restated  it  was  determined  that  the  Survey  should 
not  include  Bible  distribution  nor  attempt  to  deal  with  existing 
or  needed  translations  of  the  Bible.  The  schedules,  when 
completed,  were  sent  to  the  General  Field  Committee  for  criti¬ 
cism  and  revision.  This  Committee  met  at  Cairo,  December 
13-19,  1921,  for  this  purpose  and  to  determine  finally  the  lines 
and  limits  of  the  Survey  and  to  lay  plans  for  carrying  it  for¬ 
ward  to  execution.  During  the  next  ten  months  the  field  com¬ 
mittees  were  occupied  with  investigations  relating  to  their 
respective  fields.  The  information  they  needed  was  secured 
from  a  long  list  of  correspondents,  including  selected  mis¬ 
sionaries,  specialists  in  literary  work,  responsible  heads  of 
mission  boards.  Government  officials  and  nationals  of  the 
lands  surveyed.  At  the  same  time,  the  valuable  results  of 
earlier  investigations,  the  suggestions  of  existing  missionary 
policies,  and  the  statements  of  printed  bibliographies  were 
carefully  sought  out  and  collated.  The  aim  of  each  committee 
was  to  make,  so  far  as  possible,  for  each  area  an  entirely  com¬ 
plete  and  self-contained  report,  so  that  whatever  might  be  the 
ultimate  outcome  in  respect  to  the  comprehensive  report  for 
the  whole  Moslem  world,  each  geographical  area  might  be  cer¬ 
tain  to  obtain  so  clear  a  view  of  its  needs  and  opportunities 
that  it  would  receive  an  impetus  to  practical  activity. 

As  rapidly  as  the  special  area  surveys  were  completed, 
copies  were  sent  to  each  other  area,  and  particularly  to  the 
chairman  of  the  General  Field  Committee,  on  whom,  aided  by 
his  competent  and  devoted  secretary.  Miss  C.  E.  Padwick,  of 
London  and  Cairo — to  whose  skilful  pen  much  of  the  content 
and  phraseology  of  this  compelling  report  is  due — fell  the 
responsibility  of  drafting  a  report  that  would  not  only  cover 
the  whole  Moslem  world,  but  would  also  include  the  vital 
elements  of  each  regional  survey  and  would  make  fullest  use  of 
each  region's  outlook. 

The  General  Field  Committee  met  for  the  last  time  at 
Cairo,  November  7-14,  1922,  to  review  and  revise  the  report 
which  had  been  prepared.  The  Survey  presented  in  this  vol- 
[vi] 


PREFACE 


ume  marks  the  final  result  of  this  extended  process  of  investi¬ 
gation,  study,  criticism  and  construction.  At  every  stage  of 
the  process,  from  the  early  gathering  of  data  to  the  editorial 
touches  preceding  the  publication,  Dr.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer  has 
been  of  invaluable  assistance,  but,  all  around  the  wide  circle 
of  this  collaboration,  the  task  has  been  a  labour  of  love. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  Survey  the  Committee  was  not 
unmindful  of  the  great  and  supremely  important  work  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  the  American  Bible  Society 
and  similar  agencies.  Their  task,  however,  was  to  provide  the 
Scripture  in  the  language  of  the  Moslem  world.  All  other 
literature  was  beyond  their  scope.  There  is  a  complete  Bible 
translation,  and  careful  revisions  exist  for  every  important 
language  area  in  the  world  of  Islam.  The  fact  that  these 
versions  have  a  large  and  ever  increasing  circulation  empha¬ 
sizes  the  need  for  Christian  literature  to  interpret  the  Bible  and 
apply  its  teachings  to  everyday  life. 

The  Survey  claims  no  higher  authority  than  that  which 
legitimately  belongs  to  the  thoroughness  of  its  investigation, 
the  soundness  of  its  methods  of  procedure  and  the  reasonable¬ 
ness  of  its  conclusions  and  its  recommendations.  The  Com¬ 
mittee  believes  that  it  deserves  a  careful  reading  on  the  part  of 
the  religious  public  and  particularly  of  every  leader  or  worker 
concerned  with  the  great  task  of  Christian  evangelisation  in  the 
fields  investigated. 

The  Committee  submits  this  Survey  to  the  mission  boards 
and  societies  which  are  engaged  in  the  work  for  Moslems  and 
to  that  larger  public  which  is  interested  in  the  proper  inter¬ 
pretation  of  Christianity  to  those  under  Moslem  influence, 
believing  that  it  will  make  possible  a  more  intelligent,  far¬ 
sighted,  well-planned  programme  of  advance  during  the  next 
decade.  The  important  place  of  Christian  literature  in  carry¬ 
ing  the  Gospel  to  the  Moslem  World  cannot  be  overstated.  If 
Christians  and  Moslems  are  ever  to  reach  an  understanding, 
Christianity  in  its  saving  truth  and  in  its  expressions  of 
wholesome  life,  must  be  placed  before  these  ‘‘men  of  the  book’^ 
in  such  a  way  as  to  win  the  assent  of  their  minds  and  hearts. 
Good  literature  is  the  key  to  both.  If  the  statements  of  this 

[vii] 


PREFACE 


Survey,  so  extensively  developed  by  the  occupation  of  a  large 
missionary  circle,  receive  large  publicity  both  at  the  home  base 
and  abroad,  it  may  confidently  be  expected  that  new  plans  will 
be  undertaken  and  substantial  progress  made  in  ushering  in  a 
new  day  of  power  for  missions  to  Moslems. 

A  united  and  aggressive  pressing  of  this  literary  approach 
to  our  Moslem  brethren  in  every  part  of  the  world  seems  clearly 
to  be  one  of  the  next  steps  in  missionary  statesmanship. 

Cornelius  H.  Patton, 

Chairman  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
the  Survey  of  Christian  Literature 
for  Moslems 


[viii] 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Preface 


V 


CHAPTER 

I  The  Moslem  Press . 17 

II  The  Christian  Press  in  the  Moslem  World  .  32 

III  Christian  Literature  in  Arabic . 48 

IV  Christian  Literature  for  Turanian  and  Bal¬ 

kan  Moslems . 79 

V  Christian  Literature  for  Persian-Reading  Mos¬ 
lems  . 99 

VI  Christian  Literature  for  Indian  Moslems  .  .  iii 

VII  Christian  Literature  in  Malaysia  and  the 

Philippines . 134 

VIII  Christian  Literature  for  Moslems  in  China  .  146 

IX  Christian  Literature  for  Moslems  in  African 

Languages . 153 


X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 
XV 


Christian  Literature  for  Moslems  in  European 
Languages . 

Authorship . 

Publication . . 

Circulation  1.  . 

Newspaper  Evangelism  .  ,  ..  .  r,  .  . 

The  Next  Steps . .  •  .  . 


173 

186 

211 

231 

257 

269 


Appendices 

(a)  personnel  of  survey  organization  .  .  .  281 

(b)  a  new  census  of  the  MOSLEM  WORLD  .  .  284 

,  .  297 

[ix] 


Index 


1 


ILLUSTRATIONS,  MAPS  AND  CHARTS 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

LITERATURE  IN  THE  DESERT . FrOfltispiece 

PAGE 

TITLE  PAGE  OF  BILINGUAL  MOSLEM  TRACT  PUBLISHED  IN 

CHINA . 29 

THE  GENERAL  FIELD  COMMITTEE  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  SURVEY 

IN  CONFERENCE  AT  CAIRO . 34 

THE  NILE  MISSION  PRESS,  CAIRO . 50 

FEMINISM  IN  THE  SUDAN . 58 

PASTOR,  POET  AND  SCHOLAR . II4 

IN  THE  booksellers’  BAZAAR . 122 

A  MALAY  TYPESETTER  USING  LINOTYPE  MACHINE,  SINGA¬ 
PORE  . 138 

YOUNG  EGYPTIAN  WOMANHOOD  OF  TODAY . 1 78 

METHODIST  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  AT  SINGAPORE  ....  214 

INDUSTRIAL  PRINTING  PRESS  OF  THE  RHENISH  MISSION  AT 

LAGOEBOTI,  SUMATRA . 214 

A  CO-EDUCATIONAL  MOSLEM  SCHOOL  AT  PADANG,  SUMATRA  .  226 

SCHOOL  OF  THE  SALATIGA  FAITH  MISSION,  BLORA,  JAVA  .  .  258 

women’s  BIBLE  TRAINING  SCHOOL,  BUITENZORG,  JAVA  .  .  258 

MAPS  AND  CHARTS 

CHART  OF  LITERACY  IN  EGYPT  ACCORDING  TO  SEX  ....  52 
CHART  OF  LITERACY  IN  EGYPT  ACCORDING  TO  RELIGION  .  .  53 

MOSLEM  POPULATION  IN  ASIATIC  TURKEY . 8l 

MOSLEMS  IN  RUSSIA . 87 

MOSLEMS  OF  CHINESE  TURKESTAN . 9 1 

MOSLEMS  IN  BALKAN  STATES . 97 

.  [xi] 


MAPS  AND  CHARTS 


PAGE 

INDIAN  EMPIRE . II3 

MALAYSIA . 137 

MOSLEMS  IN  CHINA . 147 

LINGUISTIC  MAP  OF  ALGERIA . .  .  .  .  163 

THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD . 282 

LINGUISTIC  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MOSLEMS . 288 

POLITICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MOSLEMS . 289 


[xii] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 
IN  MOSLEM  LANDS 


The  modern  world  is  becoming  ‘'eye-minded, ”  it 
understands  only  what  it  sees  in  black  and  white.  Mil¬ 
lions  are  learning  to  read  in  all  lands  and  millions  find 
nothing  worth  reading.  Christian  literature  brings  its 
message  primarily  indeed  to  the  individual,  but  because 
the  printed  page  may  present  the  same  message  at  the 
same  time  to  thousands  of  readers,  it  becomes  a  power¬ 
ful  social  and  unifying  influence. 

William  H.  P.  Faunce, 

President  of  Brown  University, 

in  Social  Aspects  of  Foreign  Missions, 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 
IN  MOSLEM  LANDS 


Chapter  I 

THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 

The  ink  of  the  scholar  is  more  sacred  titan  the 
blood  of  the  martyr. — Mohammed. 

^‘Islam”  has  become  a  word  of  the  newspapers.  Because 
of  its  political  bearings  the  journalists  play  with  it;  and 
strange  indeed  is  the  play  they  make.  We  are  sure  that 
there  are  more  things  in  the  Moslem  world  than  are  dreamed 
of  in  newspaper  philosophy,  but  who  will  show  us  any  light? 

The  present  Survey,  restricted  though  it  is  to  questions 
bearing  on  literature,  has  for  those  who  cannot  aspire  to 
be  specialists  this  one  claim  to  attention,  that  it  is  the  work 
of  men  who,  whether  they  write  from  China  or  Morocco, 
are  in  daily  contact  with  the  life  of  Islam.  These  men  have 
set  themselves,  each  in  his  own  corner  of  the  Moslem  world, 
to  observe  its  strange  interplay  of  spiritual,  social  and  political 
forces  at  work  upon  mankind.  The  writers  do  not  claim  in¬ 
fallibility  but  they  are  careful  and  modest  and  speak  for  what 
they  see.  If,  in  turning  over  their  typewritten  sheets  from 
Turkey  and  Algeria,  from  Egypt  and  Arabia,  from  Syria, 
Persia,  India,  Malaysia  or  China,  we  find  indications  of  com¬ 
mon  thought  and  common  movement  in  all  of  these  widely 
separated  areas,  we  are  left  with  an  assurance,  all  the  stronger 
because  undesigned,  of  a  common  life  pulsing  in  that  un¬ 
wieldy,  incoherent  entity  that  we  so  glibly  call  “the  Moslem 
world.” 


[17] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


It  is  forced  in  upon  us  that  this  phrase,  “the  Moslem 
world,”  is  more  than  a  haphazard  expression  invented  by  mis¬ 
sionaries  to  represent  a  large  section  of  the  non-Christian 
world  professing  one  faith.  We  are  made  to  see  that  its 
meaning  includes  more  than  geographical  areas  and  sections 
of  census  reports.  It  stands,  as  Professor  C.  H.  Becker 
pointed  out  in  the  first  issue  of  Der  Islam,  for  “a  unity  of 
religious  conception,  a  unity  of  political  theory  and  of  ideals 
of  civilisation  as  well  as  of  religion.” 

“It  is  Islam,”  says  Snouck  Hurgronje,  speaking  of 
Mecca,  “which  brings  together  and  amalgamates  all  the 
heterogeneous  constituents  of  Meccan  society.  On  the  other 
hand,  this  society  itself  welds  into  a  chaotic  whole  the  pre¬ 
judices  and  superstitions  of  all  countries.”  This  Moslem 
world,  with  a  total  population  estimated  at  no  less  than  two 
hundred  millions,  faces  Christendom,  then,  as  a  unity,  a 
great  unwieldy  unity  but  a  unity  whose  self-consciousness  is 
growing  rapidly.  “Constituted  already,”  says  Professor  A. 
Le  Chatelier  “by  the  uniformity  of  its  history  and  its  in¬ 
stitutions,  this  (Moslem)  civilisation  has  not  had  as  yet  the 
character  of  a  social  structure,  on  account  of  the  separation 
of  its  component  parts.  But  the  shortening  of  distance,  the 
rapidity  of  communications  and  the  multiplicity  of  contacts 
which  are  being  established  between  peoples,  give  it  more  and 
more  a  place  in  the  life  of  humanity.  Already  the  press 
formulates  the  common  thought  between  the  Moslems  of  Min¬ 
danao  and  those  of  Adamawa,  between  the  Chinese  Ahong  and 
the  Almamy  Peul  of  Futa,” 

The  reports  of  this  Survey  of  Moslem  Literature,  made 
independently  by  groups  of  observers  at  so  many  different 
points  in  the  world  of  Islam,  only  serve  to  emphasise  the 
common  life  of  that  world.  But  they  also  give  unconscious 
testimony  to  another  unity. 

If,  as  we  turn  the  thin  type-written  pages  sent  in  from 
the  fields,  we  find  our  brothers  and  sisters,  disciples  of  Christ 
far-scattered  among  the  nations,  writing  with  unconscious 
unison  as  to  the  will  of  God  for  the  next  undertakings  of 
His  Church,  what  shall  we  think?  Do  these  pages  of  type- 

[i8] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


script  reveal  the  leadership  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  the  guide 
of  the  pilgrim  Church? 

We  turn,  with  curiosity  half  tinged  with  reverence,  to 
study  the  bundle  of  papers  and  state  faithfully  what  we  see: 

/.  spread  o f  Literacy 

One  common  fact  at  once  emerges:  The  Moslem  world 
is  learning  to  read.  The  reports  all  tell  the  same  tale : 

ARABIA 

Arabia  herself,  unstirred  for  centuries  by  movements  from 
without,  has  caught  the  fever.  “Mecca  and  Medina  have  a 
number  of  bookshops  supplied  from  Cairo,  Damascus  and 
Constantinople.”  ^  But  we  should  expect  bookishness  in 
cathedral  cities.  It  is  more  striking  to  hear  of  “post-war 
desire  for  education  and  crowded  schools  everywhere.” 
“Ability  to  read  increasingly  coveted.”  “The  Ikhwan 
(“Brotherhood”)  movement  is  increasing  literacy  in  Najd.” 
“In  all  the  large  towns  schools  are  crowded  that  used  to  be 
empty.”  So  the  observations  run,  and  if,  as  one  writer  re¬ 
marks,  the  sudden  crowding  of  the  schools  may  be  in  part 
explained  by  a  government  grant  given  for  every  pupil,  the 
very  provision  of  such  a  grant  by  any  Arabian  government  is 
part  of  the  wonder. 


‘IRAQ 

Traq,  so  long  a  centre  of  letters,  is  turning  at  last  to 
books  again.  “There  is  an  increased  desire  for  education 
everywhere.  Baghdad  has  a  mushroom  growth  of  a  dozen 
papers  and  magazines.  The  Baghdad  mission  bookshop  in 
April,  1920,  did  business  to  Rs.  600,  in  April,  1922,  to 
Rs.  16,000,  of  which  fully  half  was  with  the  native 
population.” 

^Throughout  this  volume  all  quotations,  unless  accounted  for  by  special 
references,  are  from  the  actual  text  of  the  reports  sent  in  by  the  Field 
Committees  of  the  Survey  of  Christian  Literature  for  Moslems.  (See  list 
of  field  committees  in  Appendix  A.) 

[19] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


SYRIA 

In  Syria  with  her  seats  of  hoary  learning  at  Damascus 
and  Aleppo,  and  in  Palestine,  the  land  that  first  made  child¬ 
hood  sacred  for  us  all,  the  babies  are  now  learning  their  spell¬ 
ing  book.  “There  has  never  been  a  real  government  system 
of  schools  till  the  recent  activities  of  the  British  Government 
in  Palestine  and  a  beginning  on  the  part  of  the  French  in 
Syria.  Illiteracy  is  vanishing  rapidly  for  the  rising  genera¬ 
tion,  as  schools  of  some  sort  are  open  in  every  simplest  village 
and  almost  overcrowd  the  larger  towns  and  cities.  Moslems 
share  with  the  other  people  of  Syria  and  Palestine  in  the 
quickened  desire  for  the  education  of  their  children.  Book¬ 
shops  are  doing  more  business  than  before  the  war.’^ 

TURKEY  AND  EGYPT 

Turkey  in  spite  of  the  miseries  and  distractions  of  her 
unsettlement  reports  “a  growing  desire  for  education  and 
reading,”  and  Egypt  is  in  the  throes  of  “intellectual  revival 
with  all  its  agitation,  including  agitation  for  compulsory  edu¬ 
cation.  New  Egypt  promises  to  enlarge  its  public  school 
system.  There  is  no  doubt  that  illiteracy  already  is  on  the 
decrease.  The  British  Government  during  the  war  period  and 
since,  has  communicated  its  important  announcements  even 
in  the  villages,  by  printed  proclamations  and  posted  circulars.” 

MOROCCO,  ALGERIA,  AND  TUNISIA 

These  countries  tell  the  same  tale;  the  long-robed  Berber 
of  Kabylia  is  caught  into  the  movement  faster,  perhaps,  than 
the  blue-gowned  Egyptian  fellah.  He  sees  dazzling  vistas  of 
development,  of  dignity,  before  his  son,  and  the  first  rung  in 
the  ladder  is  the  French  alphabet.  He  becomes  an  enthusiast 
of  the  reading  book.  When  the  President  of  the  French  Re¬ 
public  visited  Morocco,  Algeria  and  Tunisia,  “several  of  the 
notabilities  of  Algeria  in  their  speeches  of  welcome  advocated 
that  French  education  be  made  obligatory  for  the  natives.” 
This  year  (1922)  the  Financial  Delegations  have  made  pro- 
[20] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


vision,  extending  over  fifteen  years,  for  the  building  of  looo 
new  schools  for  the  natives.  The  Governor  General  of 
Algeria  himself  expounds  the  French  policy: — “Since  France 
has  established  herself  in  Algeria  she  has  been  constantly  pre¬ 
occupied  with  the  development  of  the  intellectual  culture  of 
the  natives,  because  she  considers  that  the  best  way  of  mak¬ 
ing  herself  understood  by  her  Moslem  subjects  of  North 
Africa  is,  before  everything  else,  to  teach  them  our  language 
and  thus  to  initiate  them  the  more  easily  into  our  civilisa¬ 
tion.”  ^  But  what  a  dizzy  leap  across  the  centuries  for  these 
latest  pupils  in  the  schools  of  France ! 

INDIA 

In  India  the  Moslem  world  is  not  untouched  by  the  new 
spirit.  One  mission  high  school,  typical  of  many,  reports  that 
whereas  thirty  years  ago  not  more  than  three  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  would  be  Moslems,  the  enrolments  of  to-day  show  four 
or  five  times  that  number.  The  Report  on  the  Progress  of 
Education  in  India,  igi2-iy  says  that  during  those  years  the 
increase  among  Mohammedan  pupils  has  been  iy.6%  as 
against  15.8%  of  all  creeds,  this  more  rapid  increase  bringing 
the  present  percentage  of  pupils  from  the  Moslem  community 
almost  to  the  level  of  the  average  percentage  from  com¬ 
munities  of  the  other  faiths  of  India. 

MALAYSIA 

In  Malaysia,  often  left  out  of  count,  there  is  a  steady  de¬ 
crease  of  illiteracy.  “The  British  and  Dutch  Governments  by 
their  large  number  of  vernacular  schools  for  Moslems  have 
created  a  demand  for  reading  matter.  The  villages  are  all  full 
of  young  people  who  can  read.” 

So  runs  the  chorus  of  testimony,  and  a  table  showing  the 
percentage  of  illiteracy  may  be  true  and  yet  most  misleading. 
For  the  significance  of  the  matter  lies  not  in  the  point  now 
reached  hut  in  the  sudden  curve  of  increase  after  static 
centuries. 


’  Proces-Verbaux  des  Delegations  Financieres  d’Algerie,  1921. 

[21] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


11.  The  Old  Moslem  Literature 

Before  every  urchin  who  learns  to  read  in  a  Moslem 
school  lie  two  worlds,  both  to  be  entered  by  the  magic  of 
books,  an  old  world  and  a  new.  Between  the  two  is  a  great 
gulf  fixed,  and  in  passing  from  the  one  to  the  other  a  man 
may  easily  be  lost  in  that  abyss.  Much  of  the  turmoil  and 
mental  discomfort  in  the  Moslem  world  to-day  is  the  result 
of  efforts  to  inherit  both  worlds  and  to  accept  claims  that 
cannot  be  reconciled  in  one  human  brain. 

On  the  one  hand  is  all  the  classic  literature  of  the  Islamic 
centuries.  “We  see  in  this  literature  the  intellectual  labour 
and  mental  acumen  of  the  Arabic-writing  nations,  in  The¬ 
ology,  Law,  Jurisprudence,  Grammar  and  other  Islamic  sci¬ 
ences.”  “The  national  and  racial  literature,”  says  our 
Arabian  report,  “is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  Koran, 
commentaries,  traditions,  divans.’'  Through  this  weighty  liter¬ 
ature  of  mediaeval  scholarship  the  boy  who  goes  far  enough 
with  his  schooling  is  guided  into  the  world  of  the  schoolmen, 
a  world  complete  within  its  own  “universe  of  discourse,”  and, 
within  its  own  limits,  a  tolerant  and  international  hospice  for 
the  scholars  who  talk  its  uniform  language;  a  world  which 
is  built  as  a  decorated  shrine  for  the  Koran,  adorned  with 
interwoven  arabesques  of  thought  and  supported  on  pillars  of 
law  and  tradition.  To  the  visitor  from  realms  of  modern 
thought  there  is  fascination  in  the  quaint  interweavings  of  its 
tracery.  He  looks  about  him  with  the  pleasure  of  an  artist 
or  an  antiquary.  But  the  man  who  is  no  visitor  but  has  his 
home  in  that  world  cannot  afford  tolerance.  If  it  could  be 
breathed  into  his  consciousness  that  the  sacred  Koran  is  in 
one  jot  of  it  untrustworthy,  or  unfit  to  be  the  heaven-sent 
centre  of  so  great  and  wonderful  a  literary  fane,  that  impious 
breath  would  shatter  the  fabric  of  his  world  of  thought  and 
leave  him  crumbling  ruins.  He  knows  this  instinctively,  and 
the  attitude  of  the  old  orthodox  Islam  has,  of  necessity,  been 
one  of  steady  hostility  to  outside  faiths. 

“A  Moslem  knowing  his  religious  literature,  is  generally 
[22] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


decidedly  opposed  to  Christianity,”  says  the  North  African 
report,  and  proceeds  to  mention,  as  does  also  the  report  from 
Syria,  one  of  the  defensive  works  against  that  “great  in¬ 
truder,”  Christianity.  Such  a  work  {Ishdr-ul-Haqq) ,  pub¬ 
lished  originally  in  Delhi,  current,  our  reports  tell  us,  in 
Algeria  which  buys  it  from  a  Cairo  press,  and  in  Syria,  where 
they  say  that  it  comes  from  Stamboul,  is  in  itself  a  witness  to 
the  homogeneity  of  that  old  world  of  Moslem  thought.  “The 
menace  of  such  books,”  says  the  Syrian  report,  “is  negligible 
so  far  as  the  conversion  of  non-Moslems  to  Islam  is  con¬ 
cerned  ;  but  they  do  steel  Moslem  young  men  against  Christian 
teachings.”  “We  must  never  forget,”  says  the  Egyptian  re¬ 
port,  “that  the  Moslem  press  is  increasingly  active,  in  spite  of 
the  censorship,  the  increased  cost  of  production  and  the  politi¬ 
cal  unrest,  in  its  output  of  distinctively  anti-Christian  litera¬ 
ture.”  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  liter¬ 
ature  of  Sufism  does  not  present  the  same  hostility. 

So  the  old  world  lives  on  behind  its  defences,  a  world 
fully  entered  only  by  the  scholastic  few,  but  serving  none  the 
less  to  make  a  background,  or  rather  an  atmosphere,  in  which 
the  lives  of  unlettered  masses  are  still  passed. 

III.  T he  New  Moslem  Literature 

But  of  the  Moslem  youth  who  learn  the  art  of  reading, 
only  a  few  will  make  that  world  of  scholastic  lore  their  own. 
What  then  do  the  rest  read?  From  almost  every  area  re¬ 
porting,  an  answer  comes  unhesitating, — they  read  the  news¬ 
paper.  In  great  cities  of  high  renown  as  centres  of  Islamic 
life,  the  shrill  call  of  the  newspaper  boy  is  as  much  a  part  of 
daily  life  as  that  sonorous  cry  from  the  minaret  above.  And 
with  the  newspaper  and  the  whole  new  realm  of  journalistic 
literature  and  cheap  translations,  ideas  come  in  like  a  flood 
which  have  no  place  in  the  old  Islamic  scheme  of  the  universe. 
It  is  as  though  the  Moslem  world,  in  learning  to  read,  were 
gaining  a  new  sense  of  touch  wherewith  to  make  the  most 
surprising  contacts.  Let  the  information  in  the  reports  speak 
for  itself : 


[23] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


EGYPT 

Egypt  comes  first,  for  she  was  the  earliest  centre  of  the 
new  literature  within  the  Moslem  world.  “The  modern  Arabic 
literature  dates  from  the  French  expedition  to  Egypt  in  1797. 
Mohammed  Ali  secured  a  translation  of  modern  books  into 
Arabic,  inaugurating  journalism  by  the  publication  in  1828 
oi  A I  WaqdVa  al  Masriya,”  which  has  never  since  ceased  pub¬ 
lication.  To-day  from  217  printing  presses,  large  and  small, 
Egypt  pours  out  a  voluminous  literature,  more  journalistic 
than  creative  or  studious,  and  including  much  of  what  Lord 
Cromer  called  “vague  declamation.”  Yet,  besides  her  seventy- 
seven  newspapers,  an  undoubted  force  in  her  national  life, 
Cairo  sees  every  year  new  books  of  scientific  interest,  chiefly  in 
translation  from  European  works,  Arabic  poetry,  novels  (gen¬ 
erally  semi-religious  or  erotic)  and  some  forms  of  history. 
And  this  prolific  literature  has  developments  of  its  own  in 
form  as  well  as  in  content.  “It  has  freed  itself  largely  from 
the  bombastic  and  affected  style,  and  adopted  western  words, 
arrangements  of  subjects,  illustrations  and  indexes.” 

SYRIA 

Syria  too  has  her  modern  journalism  and  a  serious  literary 
movement.  “There  is  an  increasing  historical,  literary  and 
scientific  literature.  This  Moslem  literature  is  not  all  hostile 
to  Christianity,  but  it  adds  to  the  intellectual  pride  of  the 
Moslem, 


MOROCCO,  ALGERIA  AND  TUNISIA 

While  largely  dependent  on  Cairo  for  their  supply  of 
printed  books,  Morocco,  Algeria  and  Tunisia  have  between 
them  about  thirty  Moslem  newspapers  in  circulation.  “One 
in  each  of  the  North  African  countries  is  a  governmental 
organ.  Some  are  bi-lingual,  Arabic  and  French  or  Arabic 
and  Italian.  The  present  French-Moslem  newspaper  press 
of  Algeria  professes  liberalism,  sincere  or  fallacious,  calling 
itself  republican  and  socialist,  but  counting  it  impossible  and 

[24] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


almost  shocking  to  give  the  rights  of  man  to  woman.”  Not 
very  daring  perhaps  in  Western  eyes,  but  startling  enough  to 
give  grave  anxiety,  we  are  told,  to  the  “Old  Turbans,”  who 
shake  their  bearded  heads  at  the  “half -Europeanised”  younger 
generation. 

ARABIA 

The  thin  line  of  the  railway  embankment  in  Arabia  (too 
thin,  it  is  true,  and  frequently  liable  to  wash-outs  because  the 
embankment  was  built  no  wider  than  the  sleepers)  is  not  the 
only  modern  penetration.  Electric  light  burns  over  the  tomb 
of  the  Prophet,  and  the  newspaper  has  arrived.  Al  Qibla, 
published  weekly  in  Mecca  itself,  is  read  also  in  the  south  of 
the  peninsula  as  far  as  Aden,  while  “newspapers  from  Egypt 
and  from  Syria  are  influential.”  The  spirit  of  questioning 
is  abroad.  The  readers  “are  enquiring  about  the  foundations 
of  Islam”  and  even  in  some  cases  “considering  the  claims  of 
Christianity.” 

'IRAQ 

“  ‘Iraq  has  several  Arabic  newspapers  of  its  own,  and  Eng¬ 
lish  also  is  increasingly  used.  Technical  books  on  such  sub¬ 
jects  as  irrigation  and  engineering  are  in  demand.  The  Arabs 
in  Bahgdad  buy  no  current  novels,  but  many  of  classical 
novels  such  as  those  of  Dickens  (Pickwick  on  the  Tigris!). 
In  the  Gulf  ports,  however,  cheap  translations  of  detective 
stories  form  the  popular  reading.  During  two  years  of  life 
the  British  Government  bookshop  has  supplied  eighteen  sets  of 
the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  to  Arab  customers.” 

TURKEY 

The  ubiquitous  newspaper  boy  shouts  in  Constantinople 
too.  “Daily  papers  and  other  periodicals  are  widely  read.  In 
general  the  whole  output  of  the  press  is  marked  by  a  low 
moral  tone.  There  has  been  a  glorification  of  false  ideals  such 
as  revenge,  and  novels,  which  are  read  very  widely,  are 
mostly  of  an  ‘off-colour’  type.  In  the  cities  young  women  are 
the  chief  reading  public  and  for  Moslem  women  the  chief 

[25] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


form  of  literature  is  the  novel.’^  Yet,  amid  much  that  is 
depressing,  this  new  literature  has  provided  “a  vehicle  of 
communication  to  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  new  interpre¬ 
tations  have  been  given  to  such  words  as  ‘Nation’  and  “Father- 
land’  which  show  the  possibility  of  taking  an  old  word  and 
giving  it  a  new  meaning  charged  with  a  new  emotional 
impulse.” 

RUSSIA 

Before  the  war  the  Moslems  of  Russia  were  bringing 
intellectual  and  moral  stimulus  to  their  faith  ^  and  were  pro¬ 
ducing  a  considerable  rationalised  Moslem  literature  in  Tatar. 
It  is  hard  now  to  obtain  particulars  of  the  Moslem  literary 
activity  of  centres  like  Kazan,  the  Crimea  and  Baku,  which 
were  rapidly  drawing  to  themselves  the  outworn  prestige  of 
Samarkand  and  Bokhara. 


PERSIA 

In  Persia,  in  1909,  an  article  in  a  Tabriz  paper  on  the 
emancipation  of  women  drew  an  angry  mob  round  the  author’s 
house,  threatening  him  with  crucifixion,  from  which  fate  he 
was  rescued  by  the  authorities  who  clapped  him  into  prison 
by  way  of  saving  his  life.^  To-day  the  busy  journalism  of 
Persia  includes  at  least  one  women’s  journal,  edited  by  a  Per¬ 
sian  woman,  and  a  large  output  of  patriotic  literature  with  an 
anti-Sufi  tendency,  since  Sufism  cannot  subserve  the  eager 
claims  of  modern  nationalism. 

INDIA 

Modern  Moslem  literature  is  in  India  a  political  force  to 
be  reckoned  with, — a  self-conscious  and  organised  force. 
“Newspapers  abound.  For  the  last  ten  years  a  distinct  type 
of  political  literature  has  been  flooding  the  country.  The 
Italian  war  with  Tripoli  was  the  chief  occasion  for  bringing 
it  on.  Politics  are  given  to  the  public  in  the  form  of  poetry, 

’  Ismail  Bey  Gasprinsky  was  a  leading  spirit  at  the  Mecca  International 
Conference  for  the  Reform  of  Islam. 

*  Womens  Work,  October  i,  1910, 

[26] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 

drama  and  fiction,  and  always  the  politics  of  Islam/’  Political 
and  religious  antagonism  merge  as  throughout  the  story  of 
Islam  they  have  ever  merged.  “The  publications  of  the 
Khilafat  Delegation  and  the  Central  Khilafat  Committee  of 
Bombay,  both  in  English  and  Urdu,  very  definitely  aim  at 
bringing  Christianity  into  contempt.  Many  of  the  rational¬ 
istic  writers  of  Europe  have  been  translated  by  Moslem 
scholars.  Moulvi  ‘Abd  ul  Halim  Sharar  writes  his  novels  from 
Lucknow.  These  books  find  their  way  throughout  the  whole 
of  India.  Most  of  his  works  are  antagonistic  to  Christianity.” 
In  some  directions  the  Moslem  press  has  done  good  service 
to  India.  “Many  standard  works  of  European  writers  have 
been  translated  by  Moslems  with  a  view  to  improving  and 
enriching  their  own  national  culture.”  Yet  on  the  other 
hand,  great  circulation  has  been  given  to  undesirable  erotic 
fiction  “and  the  none  too  clean  imagination  makes  the  most 
of  all  such  books  and  poems.” 


MALAYSIA 

Malaysia  also  has  a  large  and  increasing  Moslem  jour¬ 
nalism.  Dutch  official  figures  give  a  total  of  ninety-nine  peri¬ 
odicals  in  non-European  languages  in  their  East  Indian 
empire.  “Four  words,”  we  are  told  “which  a  few  years  ago 
were  totally  unknown  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  people  now 
appear  in  common  conversation,  namely.  Democracy,  Com¬ 
munism,  Bolshevism,  Labour  Strikes.”  The  British  and 
Dutch  Governments  have  created  a  demand  for  reading  mat¬ 
ter,  and  the  Dutch  have  established  thousands  of  loan  libraries 
in  connexion  with  government  schools.  Erotic  poems  and 
legendary  folk  stories,  dating  back  to  the  high  civilisation  of 
Java  in  her  pre-Islamic  days,  are  favourite  reading.  The 
leading  Moslem  religious  works  are  translated  from  Arabic. 
In  Java  native  writers  are  meeting  the  demand  for  more 
popular  literature  by  “putting  out  continued  stories  which 
they  issue  in  a  great  number  of  small  parts.  These  stories 
are  of  a  low  ethical  standard.” 

[27] 


d 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


CHINA 

China  reports  ‘‘a  vigorous  indigenous  Moslem  literature 
circulated  by  Moslem  publishing  agencies.”  Publications  of 
societies  like  the  Chinese  Young  Men’s  Moslem  Association 
issued  in  Shanghai  find  their  way  into  the  remote  province  of 
Turkestan. 


IV.  The  Old  and  the  New 

From  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks,  the  Sultan  was  defended  by  a  body-guard  whose  equip¬ 
ment  was  in  all  respects,  down  to  the  silver  halbert,  a  faithful 
copy  of  the  splendid  uniform  of  the  Byzantine  Varangian 
Guard,  part  of  the  spoils  of  conquest.  Only  in  the  middle  of 
the  19th  century  did  Sultan  Abdul  ‘Aziz  learn  from  European 
courts  of  a  change  of  fashion  in  imperial  body-guards,  and 
alter  his  own  to  match. 

The  defenders  of  the  faith  of  Islam  are  awakening  to  a 
similar  situation.  The  old  equipment  of  the  schoolmen,  elabo¬ 
rate  and  magnificent  in  its  way,  is  found  to  be  powerless 
against  the  newspaper  and  the  science  primer.  Clear-seeing 
minds  perceive  that  the  modern  press  may  be  an  influence  more 
speedily  and  more  magically  unifying  than  even  the  Mecca 
pilgrimage,  and  they  covet  its  power. 

So  Islam  is  required  by  her  defenders  to  doff  her 
mediaeval  panoply.  There  is  a  creaking  and  a  groaning,  a 
lamentable  protest  from  the  orthodox,  and  the  new  Islam  steps 
forth, — so  new  that  she  seems  to  have  lost  her  identity.  She 
seems  to  have  lost  it,  and  yet,  under  the  complete  change  of 
trappings  may  be  hidden  an  identical  spiritual  attitude  to  God 
and  man. 

The  reports  from  Syria  and  Egypt  say  that  “religious 
literature  includes  new  representations  of  the  old  Islam,  at¬ 
tempts  to  reconcile  Islam  and  science,  and  especially  books  of 
glorification  of  the  past  history  of  Islam.”  The  work  of 
Mohammed  ‘Abdu,  the  late  very  liberal  Grand  Mufti  of 
[28] 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


0 


TITLE  PAGE  OF  BIUNGUAL  MOSLEM  TRACT  PUBLISHED  IN  CHINA 

[29J 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Egypt, ^  is  reported  as  having  influence  in  many  parts  of  the 
Moslem  world,  but  especially  in  Syria,  where  there  is  an  out¬ 
put  of  serious  historical  and  scientific  books  in  which  “the 
underlying  theories  are  made  to  agree  with  Moslem  teaching.” 

But,  in  the  eyes  of  the  orthodox,  this  is  dangerous  work, 
and  the  greatest  of  such  efforts  is  frankly  outside  the  ortho¬ 
dox  fold,  in  the  heretical  sect  of  Ahmadiya  Moslems.  The 
relationship  of  the  Ahmadiya  movement,  whether  of  the  school 
of  Qadian  or  of  Lahore,  with  orthodox  Islam  is  half  pathetic. 
Islam  is  proud  of  the  quick  initiative,  the  savoir-faire,  and 
the  intellectual  and  missionary  activity  of  the  movement,  as 
well  as  of  the  political  value  of  the  numbers  which  it  adds  to 
the  Moslem  community  in  India;  and  the  movement  clings  to 
the  dignity  and  prestige  of  Islam  and  to  a  strangely  rational¬ 
ised  and  spiritualised  Koran. 

The  reports  show  the  remarkable  activity  of  this  movement, 
which,  besides  a  great  and  influential  output  in  India,  publishes 
in  London  an  English  paper.  The  Islamic  Review,  with  a 
large  circulation  reaching  to  Beirut  and  Baghdad,  and  modified 
editions  in  Tamil  and  Urdu.  The  literature  of  the  movement 
has  appeared  in  places  as  far  apart  as  Mascat  and  the  Gold 
Coast  and  Colombo,  while  in  Singapore  a  monthly  Ahmadiya 
magazine  has  put  in  an  appearance,  “which  will  probably  be 
read  more  by  resident  Tamils  and  Bengalis  than  by  Malays.” 
“In  the  Punjab,  Ahmadiya  literature  produced  in  Qadian  and 
Lahore  is  very  antagonistic.  More  than  three  hundred  books 
have  been  written  in  answer  to  Christian  writers  and  most 
of  these  contain  destructive  criticism  and  very  caustic  remarks 
about  Christianity.  The  Ahmadiya  publications  coming  from 
England,  in  English,  as  well  as  those  of  the  same  sort  pub¬ 
lished  in  India,  play  no  small  part  in  producing  anti-Christian 
sentiment.” 

This  movement  is  only  one,  though  it  is  the  most  active 
and  extensive,  of  many  efforts  to  re-clothe  Islam  in  garb 
acceptable  to  the  twentieth  century.  The  work  of  such  writers 
as  Isabel  Eberhart,  Magali  Bosnard,  Pierre  Loti  and  Marma- 
duke  Pickthall  though  not  primarily  apologetic,  plays  its  part 


[30] 


®  See  Cromer,  Modern  Egypt,  Vol.  II,  pp.  179,  180. 


THE  MOSLEM  PRESS 


in  displaying  Islam  to  western  eyes  with  the  glow  of  a  rich 
imagination  cast  over  all  that  is  most  picturesque,  most  dig¬ 
nified  and  most  appealing  in  Moslem  life. 

So,  as  the  Moslem  boy  steps  out  of  the  schoolroom  a 
reader,  a  strange  medley  of  voices  may  reach  his  consciousness 
through  the  printed  page, — some  new  and  some  as  old  as  the 
making  of  books,  some  of  east  and  some  of  west  and  some  of 
hybrid  birth.  But  to  those  who  have  ever  heard  one  Voice, 
it  is  intolerable  that  to  these  their  brothers  the  press  should 
speak  with  all  the  voices  except  the  voice  of  Christ. 


C31] 


Chapter  II 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS  IN  THE  MOSLEM 

WORLD 

The  best  way  and  most  effectual  to  overcome  and 
win  the  Turks  would  he  if  they  shall  perceive  that 
thing  which  Christ  taught  and  expressed  in  His  life 
to  shine  in  us.  For  truly  it  is  not  meet  nor  con¬ 
venient  to  declare  ourselves  Christian  men  by  this 
token  if  we  kill  very  many  but  rather  if  we  sceue 
very  many  ...  in  my  mind  it  were  best  before  we 
should  try  with  them  in  battle  to  attack  them  with 
epistles  and  some  little  books. — Erasmus  (in  1530). 


/.  Beginnings 

About  the  year  1095,  a  native  of  Piedmont,  who  had  won 
repute  as  a  scholar  in  Normandy  and  had  left  his  studious 
cloister  with  deep  regret  for  an  English  archbishopric,  found 
himself  rusticating  in  an  Italian  village,  while  he  waited  the 
tardy  conclusion  of  business  with  the  Pope.  In  the  days  of 
waiting  the  scholar  found  time  for  his  pen  again,  and  Anselm 
wrote  his  work  Cur  Deus  Homo. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  an  Englishman  in 
Tunis  (Mr.  B.  Mitchell  of  the  North  Africa  Mission)  trans¬ 
lated  Cur  Deus  Homo  into  Arabic  to  be  printed  at  Beirut  as  a 
Christian  apologetic  for  the  Moslem  world  of  his  own  day. 

The  incident  is  suggestive.  Into  what  other  field  of 
Christian  apologetics  would  a  man  of  the  19th  century  have 
sent  forth  as  champion  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  schoolmen? 
Such  an  action  is  a  commentary  on  the  amazing  degree  to 
which  the  intellectual  presentation  of  Islam  had  remained  static 

[32] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


through  the  centuries;  but  it  is  also  a  more  moving  commen¬ 
tary  on  lost  opportunities.  For  time  was,  when  the  scholars 
of  Christendom  and  of  Islam,  though  separated  by  the  clash 
of  war,  lived  in  the  same  intellectual  realm.  Discussion  was 
not  embarrassed  by  a  dreadful  groping  after  the  meaning  of 
terms.  Men  could  get  to  work  and  argue  with  satisfaction, 
for  they  were  still  members  of  one  intellectual  commonwealth. 
The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  might  have  found  her  way 
to  the  spring  of  her  Moslem  brother’s  convictions.  But  St. 
Francis  had  to  spend  himself  in  expostulation  with  Cardinal 
Ugolino,  and  Raymond  Lull  battered  almost  in  vain  at  the 
apathy  of  official  Christendom. 

That  day  of  opportunity  passed.  Christian  thought  swept 
on  with  ever  changing  emphasis,  each  century — almost  each 
generation — engrossed  with  some  fresh  aspect  of  truth.  When 
at  last,  in  the  19th  century,  Christian  men  began  to  consider 
their  Moslem  brothers,  they  had  all  the  penalty  to  pay  for 
neglect  and  separation.  To  reach  their  brother’s  mind  they 
must  step  across  the  centuries.  It  is  significant  that  one  of 
the  works  circulated  to-day  by  the  Nile  Mission  Press  of 
Egypt,  throughout  Arabic-reading  lands,  is  the  Christian 
apology  made  by  A1  Kindy  at  the  Court  of  Damascus  about 
the  time  of  Alfred  the  Great. 

Books  have  perhaps  played  a  larger  part  in  the  contact  of 
Christianity  with  Islam  than  in  its  contact  with  any  other 
faith.  For  the  Christian  man  in  Islamic  lands  found  himself 
confronted  by  scholarship  and  a  world  of  books  impossible 
to  ignore.  He  could  not,  like  his  brother  among  pagan 
tribes,  give  his  mind  at  once  to  his  people’s  hymnbook  and 
their  easy  catechism.  For  the  long-robed  scholars  who  filled 
his  house  with  the  odour  of  musk  faced  him  with  arguments 
backed  with  serried  ranks  of  books.  And  the  books  could 
not  be  ignored  since  they  not  only  taught  another  faith  but 
they  distorted  and  denied  his  own.  For  the  vindication  of 
the  Christ  he  served,  he  was  driven  to  write  in  defence  of 
the  life  that  was  in  him.  “Controversy  must  be  courteous 
and  sympathetic,”  says  the  present  report  from  North  Africa, 
“but  we  can  no  more  avoid  it  than  could  St.  Paul  in  dealing 

[33] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


with  the  Jews.’'  Nor  must  we  close  our  eyes  to  the  contro¬ 
versies  of  our  Lord  in  His  dealings  with  the  Jews. 


II.  The  C hristian  Press  and  Islam 

Christian  men,  then,  set  to  work  to  vindicate  their  Master 
before  the  scholars  of  Islam.  In  one  sense  their  task  is  nearly 
done,  in  another  it  is  all  yet  to  do. 

THE  ALMOST  COMPLETED  TASK 

The  old  Islamic  thought  is  wonderfully  close-knit  and 
homogeneous.  The  scholar  enters  a  republic  of  letters  whose 
boundaries  are  wider  than  nationality.  And  he  finds  a  sta¬ 
bility  of  structure  that  hardly  changes  with  the  centuries.  For 
Christian  apologists  this  means  that  the  path  of  approach 
beaten  out  in  one  century  and  language  may  serve  for  quite 
another  day  and  country. 

At  the  Mogul  court  of  Jahangir  when  James  I  was  on 
the  English  throne,  Jerome  Xavier,  the  Jesuit,  wrote  a  tractate 
in  Latin  which  was  rendered  into  Persian  to  meet  Moslem 
arguments  against  Christianity.  At  Shiraz  in  the  reign  of 
George  III,  Henry  Martyn,  ^‘the  flower  of  evangelical  chiv¬ 
alry,”  wrote  Persian  tracts  to  meet  the  arguments  of  the 
doctors.  At  Shusha,  in  Georgia,  two  years  before  Victoria 
came  to  the  throne,  young  Gustav  Pfander,  the  Saxon,  wrote 
a  great  work  in  German  to  be  translated  into  Persian,  Urdu 
and  most  of  the  chief  languages  of  the  Moslem  East.  None 
of  these  men  saw  his  brother’s  work,  yet  the  likeness  is  amaz¬ 
ing,  and  reveals  how  settled  are  the  outlines  of  “the  Moslem 
controversy.”  As  to  the  main  line  of  argument  the  Church 
has  done  her  thinking.  To  do  that  over  again  in  each  isolated 
area  would  be  waste  of  energy  in  a  world  of  many  demands. 
The  lists  of  books  sent  in,  in  connexion  with  the  present 
survey,  bring  all  this  home  with  clearness.  Let  us  take  at 
random  one  common  statement  in  Moslem  arguments  against 
Christianity : 

[34] 


f 

i 


C.2 

oj 

OJ  O 

St 

gs 
■*-> 
ai  s- 

&l 


I 

O)  O)  -»-> 

«S5 

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’*«>■ 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


^'The  Christian  scriptures  now  in  circulation  are  not  those 
to  which  Mohammed  bore  testimony  hut  have  been  corrupted.’' 

Turning  to  the  lists  sent  in  we  find  not  only  many  replies 
in  the  course  of  larger  works,  but  also  the  following  special 
pamphlets : 

Title  Author 

Reason  in  respect  of  corrup¬ 
tion  and  supersession  of 

the  Bible  .  Abdullah  Athim 

Guidance  for  the  Doubtful  E.  M.  Wherry 
Refutation  of  the  Corrup¬ 
tion  .  Anon 

The  Bible  or  the  Quran?...  G.  L.  Thakur  Das 
What  happened  before  the 
Hijra  . W.  H.  T.  Gairdner 

Integrity  of  the  Gospel .  G.  H.  Rouse 

Moslems  invited  to  read  the 

Bible  . . .  W.  Muir 

Proof  of  the  Futility  of 

Fakhr  the'  Ignorant .  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  Persian. 

*Abdu'l  Masih's  Apology...  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  Persian. 

This  is  an  example  taken  at  random.  But  a  comparative 
study  of  the  lists  sent  in  shows  a  volume  of  existing  work 
meeting  all  the  main  lines  of  Moslem  argument,  but  published 
some  in  one  language  and  some  in  another.  While  certain 
famous  works  like  Mizdn  al  Haqq  have  been  many  times 
translated,  it  is  yet  clear  that  scattered  workers  have  not,  as 
they  should,  found  ready  to  their  hand  the  results  of  their 
comrades’  toil.  With  so  much  done,  a  Christian  man  desir¬ 
ing  to-day  to  deal  with  the  same  arguments  in  Tatar,  Swahili, 
Kanarese,  Javanese  or  any  Moslem  vernacular,  should  find  the 
outlines  of  his  work  prepared  for  him. 

One  result  of  the  present  survey  should  be  the  more 
careful  husbanding  of  work  already  done  in  each  country. 
Almost  every  area  reporting  suggests  an  extension  of  the  plan 
by  which,  in  India,  important  books  are  often  printed  in  small 
English  editions  and  so  made  available  for  translation  into 
any  vernacular.  The  present  reports  suggest  that  basic  manu¬ 
scripts  in  some  European  language,  of  all  the  principal  works 

[35] 


Language 

Urdu 

U 

it 

it 

^English,  Arabic, 
^Turkish. 

’  English,  Urdu, 

-  Tamil,  Telugu, 

_  Chinese. 

’  English,  Urdu, 

^  Arabic,  Cape  Dutch, 
Persian. 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


produced  in  all  Moslem  lands,  should  be  available,  through 
some  central  agency,  for  use  by  missionaries  throughout  the 
whole  Moslem  world.  The  Christian  Literature  Society, 
Madras,  does  this  for  the  works  of  Canon  Sell  and  others  in 
India. 


THE  TASK  YET  BEFORE  US 

But  with  all  their  insistence  on  a  better  conservation  of 
work  done,  the  reports  suggest  that,  with  regard  to  some 
aspects  of  the  great  controversy,  the  Church’s  thinking  is  by 
no  means  finished.  The  lines  of  argument  may  be  clear, 
but  man  is  more  than  intellect.  It  is  true  that  Pfander’s 
public  controversies  brought  some  notable  disciples  to  the 
feet  of  Christ;  but  when  the  whole  is  known,  how  much  of 
this  happy  result  will  be  found  owing  the  surefooted  logic 
of  that  master  of  argument,  and  how  much  to  the  affection 
that  beamed  from  his  expansive  blue-eyed  countenance?  For 
Pfander,  looking  over  his  enormous  Bible  at  the  hostile  faces, 
showed  himself  such  a  comfortable  embodiment  of  unmoved 
good-nature  that,  as  Sir  Herbert  Edwardes  said,  ‘‘it  was  diffi¬ 
cult  for  anyone  to  be  angry  with  him  for  more  than  a  passing 
moment.” 

The  Survey  reports  show  great  tenderness  of  conscience 
on  this  subject,  and  a  divine  discontent,  not  with  the  argu¬ 
ments  for  Christianity  but  with  their  presentation.  There 
is  a  constant  deprecation  of  the  controversial  spirit,  and  an 
insistence  that  the  Christian  should  set  out  to  impart  the 
positive  truths  by  which  he  lives,  only  turning  aside  to  con¬ 
troversy  when  his  path  of  exposition  is  barred  by  specific 
denial.  Dr.  Kremer  of  Malaysia  says,  “our  method  must  be 
by  thesis,  not  antithesis.”  Christian  apologetic,  though  ready 
to  meet  Moslem  difficulties  and  misconceptions,  cannot  allow 
its  direction  to  be  chosen  for  it,  and  its  matter  to  be  limited 
by  Moslem  controversialists.  It  cannot  turn  only  within  the 
narrow  circle  of  scholastic  methods.  It  must  be  the  presenta¬ 
tion  of  life,  the  life  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  even  in  its 
method  of  presentation  it  must  draw  the  Moslem  mind  into 

[36] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


a  larger  place.  That  is  part  of  its  liberating  task.  Let  the 
reports  speak : 

“Moslem  difficulties  should  be  met  rather  than  answered.” 
{Egypt.) 

“The  spirit  should  be  courteous  and  sympathetic,  contro¬ 
versy  steeped  in  love.”  (Arabia.) 

“If  controversy  is  unavoidable  it  must  be  conducted  in  the 
spirit  of  love.”  (China.) 

“It  must  be  conciliatory  and  sympathetic  but  cannot  be 
avoided.”  (North  Africa.) 

“In  the  past  the  sympathetic  approach  has  been  too  little 
cultivated.  Certain  valuable  contributions  to  apologetic  lit¬ 
erature  are  occasionally  marred  by  language  calculated  to 
alienate  the  Moslem  reader.  Some  of  the  earlier  tracts  should 
be  carefully  revised  from  the  point  of  view  of  subject  matter 
and  manner  of  approach.  Statements  likely  to  offend  unneces¬ 
sarily  should  be  expunged”  (India). 

“In  some  cases  a  few  books  and  tracts  might  better  be 
declared  out  of  print,  and  a  larger  number  be  carefully  re¬ 
written,  when  a  new  edition  is  issued”  (Egypt). 

These  are  not  the  utterances  of  lovers  of  controversy,  con¬ 
tent  to  win  arguments  and  lose  men.  With  such  a  spirit 
abroad  we  may  look  for  all  the  ingenuity  of  love  in  finding 
ways  by  which  truth  may  reach  a  brother’s  life.  The  story- 
dialogue  form,  as  in  What  happened  before  the  Hijra,  appears 
in  a  good  deal  of  recent  work.  This  form,  with  all  its  attrac¬ 
tiveness  and  help  for  flagging  interest  and  attention,  is  a  diffi¬ 
cult  one  to  handle.  For  the  writer  must  present  in  the  dia¬ 
logue  his  own  case  and  his  opponent’s  too;  and  any  slightest 
tinge  of  unfairness  or  tendency  to  stress  the  less  reputable 
aspects  of  Moslem  thought  may  prove  more  irritating  and 
alienating  than  the  most  slashing  blows  of  argument.  “Chris¬ 
tian  literature”  (says  the  Arabian  report)  “should  recognise 
and  deal  with  the  best  explanations  of  objectionable  ideas 
and  customs.”  For  in  the  words  of  a  well-known  sentence 
by  Dr.  D.  B.  Macdonald,  “the  paradox  of  a  missionary’s  life 

[37] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


is  that  he  must  have  a  liking  for  his  people  and  their  queerest 
little  ways,  even  while  he  is  trying  to  change  them.” 

To  say  that  the  particular  literary  form  just  mentioned 
is  difficult  is  not  to  decrease  its  value.  Difficulty  is  a  neces¬ 
sary  element  in  this  work.  Nothing  can  make  easy  the  task 
of  intellectual  sympathy  with  the  old  world  in  which  the  heart 
of  Islam  still  beats.  The  report  from  the  North  African  area 
in  particular  calls  for  Christian  scholars,  adventurous  enough 
to  learn  not  only  the  speech  of  another  race,  but  the  ways  of 
thought  that  belong  to  another  age, — and  that  not  as  a  tour- 
de-force  but  as  an  act  of  brotherliness.  “The  doctors  of 
Islam,”  says  the  report,  “have  theological  conceptions  and 
a  scholastic  knowledge  which  puts  them  in  somewhat  the 
same  position  as  were  those  schooled  in  Greek  philosophy 
in  the  first  ages  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  apologists 
of  early  Christian  centuries  may  have  laid  too  much  stress 
on  the  value  of  Greek  philosophy  as  a  propaedeutic,  but  they 
would  have  made  a  greater  mistake  if  they  had  rejected  all 
as  incompatible  with  the  Gospel.”  The  old  world  of  Islam 
to-day  no  less  than  ever  awaits  the  interpreters  of  Christ. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  literature  of  approach  and  Christian  apologetics 
to  Moslems  hitherto  produced  in  all  countries  should  be  classi¬ 
fied  and  made  available  in  French  or  English  through  some 
central  agency. 

No  such  collection  of  literature  will  be  in  any  sense  com¬ 
plete  unless  the  important  apologetic  work  for  Moslems  under¬ 
taken  at  various  times  by  the  Oriental  and  Roman  Churches 
be  included.^ 

2.  The  main  outlines  of  the  arguments  with  which  the 
Church  meets  the  hostile  statements  of  the  old  Islam  are 
thought  out.  The  worker’s  thought  to-day  will  be  largely 
given  to  the  question  of  courteous,  sympathetic,  idiomatic, 
varied,  and  scrupulously  fair  presentation. 

^  Al  Mashriq,  the  organ  of  the  Jesuit  University  of  Beirut,  is  publishing 
serially  an  important  list  of  Christian  manuscripts  found  in  the  East,  in 
historical  order. 

[38] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


3.  To  these  general  results  drawn  from  the  whole  sur¬ 
vey  may  be  added  as  corollary  a  suggestion  from  the  Arabian 
report : 

Not  every  missionary  will  become  a  master  of  the  Moslem 
controversy.  Many  will  spend  their  lives  in  the  service  of 
people,  themselves  ignorant  of  the  controversy  but  none  the  less 
under  the  spell  of  Islamic  thought.  Probably  the  quickest  way 
for  the  missionary  to  place  himself  beside  these  folk  and 
understand  their  mental  equipment  will  be  to  make  the  basis 
of  his  own  study  of  Islam  the  very  text-books  on  which  they 
themselves  are  trained.  “A  volume  should  be  prepared  for 
missionaries,”  says  the  Arabian  report,  “containing  the 
courses  of  study  usually  covered  by  the  boys  in  the  ordinary 
Moslem  school,  with  explanatory  notes  and  references  to  books 
upon  the  subjects  studied.” 

Ill.  Christian  Literature  and  the  New  World 
of  Islam 

The  survey  has  revealed  a  rapid  increase  of  literacy  and 
the  opening  to  Moslems  of  a  whole  new  world  of  foreign  con¬ 
tacts.  With  a  growing  consciousness  of  the  ideals  of  the 
outside  world  is  growing  up  a  new  type  of  Moslem  apology 
in  which  the  ground  of  attack  is  ethical.  All  that  is  least 
Christian  in  western  civilisation  is  held  up  to  view  as  the  fruit 
of  Christianity.  The  character  of  our  Lord  is  deliberately 
besmirched,  and  the  character  of  Mohammed  is  as  deliberately 
glorified  and  painted  in  colours  that  would  have  amazed  the 
Arab  world  of  the  seventh  century.^  There  is  a  deliberate 
attempt  to  make  Mohammed  the  ethical  ideal  for  mankind, 
and  this  has  involved  the  painting  of  a  new  Mohammed  in 
colours  drawn  from  a  Christian  paint-box. 

Further  study  of  the  survey  reports  reveals  that  the  edu¬ 
cational  developments  of  the  present  time  in  the  Moslem 
world  have  wrought  changes  in  the  outlook  or  the  reading 
capacity  of  three  great  and  growing  classes  to  whom  truth 
may  now  come  by  way  of  a  printed  page : 

^See  Ecce  Homo  Arahicus,  by  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner. 

[39] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


THOSE  EDUCATED  ALONG  WESTERN  LINES 

“Unless  Christian  literature  is  used,  western  education 
will  be  absorbed  by  the  Moslem  world  without  the  guiding 
and  restraining  force  of  religion”  (Arabian  Report). 

“The  real  leaders  of  thought  must  not  be  neglected,  espe¬ 
cially  the  Eflfendi  class  (young  modernised  Egyptians)  who, 
unless  led  aright,  will  be  led  astray  by  agnostic,  infidel  and 
immoral  literature  which  is  pouring  into  Egypt,  in  French  as 
well  as  in  Arabic  translation.  The  student  class  are  the 
originators,  the  imitators,  and  the  fanatic  devotees  of  new 
ideas  and  often  of  new  and  higher  ideals,  especially  in  social 
reform.”  (Egyptian  Report.) 

“The  schools  turn  out  every  year  from  seven  to  ten  thou¬ 
sand  able  to  read  French.  This  class  is  most  exposed  to  the 
anti-religious  influences  in  many  educated  French  circles.  The 
tendency  is  for  the  cultured  native  to  look  upon  the  Christian 
religion  as  of  little  importance  in  modern  life.  At  the  same 
time  their  education  opens  their  minds  to  a  better  understand¬ 
ing  of  historical  proofs,  a  better  ability  to  compare  Jesus  and 
Mohammed,  and  a  better  understanding  of  moral  arguments 
for  Christianity.”  (North  African  Report.) 

THE  BARELY  LITERATE 

In  this  class  are  those  whose  schooling  just  enables  them  to 
read,  but  not  to  enjoy  the  literature  of  either  East  or  West.  At 
present,  not  all,  but  the  majority  of  women  readers  come  under 
this  heading. 

“It  is  especially  necessary  to  prepare  a  large  assortment 
of  illustrated  books  for  the  nearly  illiterate.  There  is  a  great 
and  populous  borderland  between  literacy  and  illiteracy. 
Those  who  can  barely  read  and  are  anxious  to  read  some¬ 
thing,  but  find  nothing  within  their  range  of  knowledge.” 
(Egyptian  Report.) 

“There  are  a  great  number  who  have  learned  a  little 
Arabic  but  not  sufficient  to  be  able  to  understand  the  literary 
style.  Especially  their  vocabulary  is  very  limited.  For  such, 

[40] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


good  colloquial  literature  is  preferred  and  would  reach  the 
end  desired,  namely,  to  get  the  message  to  their  minds  and 
its  power  to  their  hearts.”  {North  African  Report.) 

“We  should  aim  at  providing  literature  for  the  people  of 
the  rural  communities, — millions  of  uneducated  village  folk. 
The  need  is  for  narrative  in  simpler  form  than  the  current 
translations  of  the  Gospels.”  {Indian  Report.) 

“We  should  aim  chiefly  at  reaching  the  common  people.” 
{Turkish  Report.) 

“The  greatest  need  is  for  literature  to  reach  readers  in  the 
villages.”  {Malaysian  Report.) 

CHILDREN,  BOYS  AND  GIRLS 

It  is  estimated  that  these  number  at  least  80,000,000  in 
the  Moslem  world,  while,  thanks  to  the  recent  spread  of 
schooling,  the  proportion  of  readers  is  higher  among  them 
than  among  adults. 

“Literature  for  Moslem  women  and  children  needs  to  be 
increased.  There  is  need  of  books  for  the  young  people  who 
make  up  a  fifth  or  fourth  of  the  population  in  numbers,  and 
are  an  element  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  appetite  for 
entertaining  reading  exists  and  should  be  made  use  of.” 
{Syrian  Report.) 

“The  classes  of  persons  to  be  reached  in  the  order  of  their 
importance  are  children,  women,  men.”  {Turkish  Report.) 

“The  lads  are  learning  to  read  now  by  the  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  throughout  the  Moslem  world,  and  the  provision  for 
their  awakening  powers  as  far  as  Christianity  goes  is  nil. 
In  England  and  America  every  stage  from  babyhood  to 
adolescence  is  catered  for;  in  the  house  of  Islam,  for  minds 
as  eager,  nothing  is  prepared.”  {North  African  Report.) 

THE  SCOPE  OF  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

It  is  not  surprising  that  writers  so  conscious  of  many- 
sided  human  life  as  are  the  makers  of  the  reports  just  quoted, 
should  have  a  many-sided  conception  of  what  the  literature 
produced  in  Christ’s  name  should  be. 


[41] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


A  glance  at  the  books  prepared  by  Christians  for  their 
Moslem  brothers  more  than  twenty  years  ago  will  show  that 
the  pioneers  (and  there  were  giants  in  those  days)  with  the 
almost  solitary  exception  of  A.L.O.E.  (Miss  Tucker),  the 
writer  of  many  much-loved  tales,  were  absorbed  by  the  chal¬ 
lenge  of  the  great  Moslem  controversy.  This  was  necessary, 
but  during  the  last  twenty  years  the  hope  has  grown  up  of  a 
wider  range  for  the  service  of  Christian  books  in  the  Moslem 
world. 

To  a  great  extent  it  is  Christian  periodical  literature, 
always  more  mobile  than  a  literature  of  books,  that  has  made 
the  first  experiments  with  new  lines  of  approach.  Nur  Afshan 
of  Ludhiana  may  be  cited,  and  many  other  magazines.  For 
Egypt  the  two  papers  Beshair  es  Sdam  (1900)  and  Orient 
and  Occident  (1904)  ‘‘may  be  considered  as  dating  the  modern 
movement.”  In  North  Africa  at  about  the  same  time.  Miss 
Trotter  left  the  trodden  ways  and  began  the  production  of 
leaflets  with  a  broad  human  appeal,  enlisting  the  imagination 
and  the  eye.  That  work  of  the  Algiers  Mission  Band,  slen¬ 
der  in  output,  has  yet  done  pioneer  service.  “It  was  in  the 
first  decade  of  the  century,”  says  their  report,  “that  the  need 
arose  before  us  for  literature  fitted  for  the  unlearned  and 
ignorant  men  of  the  land.  The  controversial  tracts  we  had 
in  stock  were  suitable  for  the  Moslem  students  of  the  towns; 
but  these  men  of  the  markets  could  be  reached  (if  we  could 
get  their  ear)  on  the  broad  lines  of  sin  and  salvation.  We 
tried  the  unfailing  spell  of  ‘Once  upon  a  time,’  and  gathered 
up  from  among  us  in  that  first  decade  about  twenty  ‘Parable 
Tracts,’  edited  in  colloquial.”  It  would  be  hard  to  tell  how 
much  of  inspiration  other  literature  missionaries  owe  to  that 
slender  output  of  papers  with  their  warm  human  interest,  their 
use  of  the  imagination  and  their  touch  of  eastern  beauty. 

From  such  beginnings  a  change  has  come  over  the  outlook 
of  the  literature  missionary.  Twenty  years  ago,  if  asked 
what  types  of  books  were  necessary  for  his  work  in  the 
Moslem  world,  he  would  probably  have  mentioned  works 
covering  the  Moslem  controversy.  Biblical  narratives  and  ex- 

[42] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 

planations,  works  on  Christian  doctrine,  and  the  literature  of 
devotion. 

The  present  survey  shows  that  while  all  the  areas  report¬ 
ing  want  all  these  books  as  much  as  ever,  not  one  report  is 
now  content  with  these  alone.  The  change  is  one  of  addition 
without  subtraction.  Report  after  report  emphasises  the  im¬ 
portance  of  Christian  story  literature.  It  is  clear  that  the 
Church  must  pray  for  the  inspiration  of  the  “A.L.O.E.’s” 
of  to-day,  whether  eastern  or  western. 

‘‘We  need  literature  for  influencing  native  thought,  in 
conjunction  with  the  progress  of  education,  in  all  that  makes 
for  individual,  family,  social  and  national  well-being, — litera¬ 
ture  on  purity,  hygiene,  temperance,  home  life,  social  respon¬ 
sibility,  and  opportunities  for  service,  as  well  as  healthy  recrea¬ 
tive  and  instructive  literature.”  {North  African  Report.) 

“We  need  a  whole  literature  to  make  the  Christian  Church, 
struggling  in  a  Moslem  land,  free  to  use  her  great  heritage 
in  the  way  of  lives  made  glorious  by  Christ  in  all  centuries 
and  countries.  There  are  treasuries  of  devotion  and  Chris¬ 
tian  scholarship,  and  books  which  give  the  Christian  attitude 
to  nature  and  aesthetics  and  all  human  problems.  This  litera¬ 
ture,  while  not  called  apologetic  -or  addressed  nominally  to 
Moslems  as  such,  may  yet  prove  the  strongest  apology  we 
make  to  the  Moslem  world  for  the  Life  that  is  in  us. 

“We  need  a  Christian  literature  for  the  young  along  such 
lines  that  it  shall  be  possible  for  an  Egyptian  child  (as  it  is 
not  now),  to  enjoy  successively  not  only  Christian  teaching 
in  carefully  graded  sympathetic  Bible  lesson-books,  but  also 
nursery  rhymes,  songs,  games,  fairy  tales,  nature  books,  ad¬ 
venture  books,  historical  tales,  scientific  information,  poetry, 
novels,  without  finding  himself  in  a  mental  and  moral  environ¬ 
ment  hostile  to  Christ.  All  these  purposes  must  be  kept  in  view 
together.  There  is  need  for  them  all  in  the  Moslem  world 
to-day.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

“the  purpose  of  a  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  CAN  BE  NOTH¬ 
ING  LESS  THAN  TO  BRING  EVERY  THOUGHT  INTO  CAPTIVITY 
TO  THE  OBEDIENCE  OF  CHRIST;  HENCE  NO  DOMAIN  OF  HUMAN 
THOUGHT  IS  ALIEN  TO  IT.” 


[43] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


IV.  T he  Present  Survey 

The  survey  on  which  this  report  is  based  was  made  by 
Field  Committees  in  twelve  areas  covering  the  Moslem  world 
from  Russia  to  South  America,  and  from  Morocco  to  China. 
Details  concerning  so  many  nations  and  tongues  are  dazing, 
but  in  all  this  mass  of  material  we  find  the  same  spirit  of 
aspiration  after  a  literature  that  shall  reveal  Christ  more  fully. 
In  relation  to  the  task  of  Christian  literature  the  languages 
reporting  fall  into  four  classes,  quite  unknown  to  ethnologist 
or  linguist  but  useful  to  the  clearing  of  our  thought : 

1.  In  a  few  languages  (notably  Arabic  and  Urdu)  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  for  Moslems  now  almost  covers  the  range  of 
the  older  Moslem  apologetic  and  is  setting  out  to  develop 
other  lines  of  approach  to  the  human  spirit. 

2.  A  few  languages  (e.g.,  Chinese  and  Tamil),  have  a 
fair  range  of  general  Christian  literature,  not  specifically 
addressed  to  Moslems  ®  and  are  now  setting  out  to  provide 
the  literature  needed  in  special  apologetic  work  for  Moslems. 

3.  In  the  majority  of  languages  used  by  Moslems,  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  of  any  sort  is  appallingly  scanty;  but  the  reports 
sent  in  show  a  desire,  while  not  neglecting  the  older  form  of 
apologetic,  to  make  the  literature  full-orbed  from  the  first, 
with  a  message  for  all  sides  of  life. 

4.  Certain  languages  of  undeveloped  races  may  be  classed 
together  for  our  purpose.  Either  because  they  are  spoken 
by  very  small  groups  (e.g.,  Shulla,  Dinka  and  Nuer  in  the 
Western  Sudan)  or  because  they  are  being  conquered  by 
stronger  neighbour  tongues  (e.g.,  some  of  the  Berber  lan¬ 
guages  disappearing  before  French)  no  great  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  will  spring  up  in  them.  Work  in  such  tongues  will  have 
to  be  small  in  output  and  rudimentary  in  idea,  but  it  may  be 
none  the  less  important  in  the  lives  of  small  backward 
communities. 

*  While  both  Chinese  and  Indian  reports  give  evidence  of  desire  to  use 
such  literature  to  the  utmost,  it  is  plain  that  its  use  is  not  without  difficul¬ 
ties.  “Some  of  the  literature  actually  being  sold  to  Moslems  was  prepared 
originally  with  Hindus  in  view.  It  would  be  a  great  gain  to  have  this 
done  into  the  style  and  language  suitable  for  Moslems.”  {Indian  Report.) 

[44] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


5.  The  languages  of  the  West  have  taken  on  a  new  im¬ 
portance,  because  they  have  become  to  a  great  extent  the 
languages  of  higher  education  for  Moslem  students,  and  also 
the  languages  of  the  newer  Moslem  propaganda. 

WHY  A  SPECIAL  LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS? 

The  mention  of  Indian,  Chinese  and  African  languages 
may  recall  the  fact  of  the  great  surveys  lately  made  of 
Christian  literature  in  India,  China  and  Africa.  Any  enquiry 
about  literature  for  Moslems  in  these  lands  must  make  a  cross 
section  through  the  area  of  those  general  literature  surveys. 
And  further,  any  special  task  of  production  for  Moslems  in 
these  lands  (or  in  any  lands  where  general  Christian  literature 
is  being  produced)  makes  a  kind  of  subsidiary  focus  of  energy, 
where  we  all  deeply  desire  that  the  energies  of  the  Christian 
Church  be  economised,  simplified,  unified.  Is  it  really  neces¬ 
sary?  Would  it  not  suffice  to  survey  literature  for  Moslems 
in  wholly  Moslem  lands,  and  in  countries  where  Moslems  are 
only  a  minority  could  we  not  leave  them  to  take  their  share 
of  the  general  literature  of  the  Christian  Church?  Is  it  really 
necessary  to  provide  a  Christian  literature  specifically  for 
Moslems? 

The  answer  lies  in  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  Moslem 
attitude  toward  Christianity.  To  the  Moslem,  Christ  is  ‘‘only 
a  man.”  To  the  Moslems,  Christians  are  polytheists.  Christ 
was  not  crucified.  He  did  not  die.  The  Moslem’s  books  give 
him  no  conception  of  the  matchless  beauty  of  Christ’s  life 
and  teaching.  The  Christ  whom  the  Moslem  knows  is  a  cari¬ 
cature,  an  impossible  child  who  talks  in  his  cradle,  a  magician 
who  makes  clay  into  birds.  The  Moslem’s  ideas  about  the 
miracle  of  the  Incarnation  and  the  Divine  Sonship  are  “of 
the  earth  earthy.”  The  Moslem’s  Christ  and  ours  are  two 
different  persons.  It  is  not  what  the  Moslem  does  not  know 
about  Christ,  but  what  he  thinks  he  does  know  that  puts  him 
in  a  class  by  himself,  a  special  problem  demanding  a  special 
treatment  in  literature. 

On  this  vital  question  the  reports  are  clear : 


[45] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

‘‘In  one  sense  the  gospel  message  is  the  same  for  all, 
whether  heathen,  Moslems,  Jews,  Christians  or  unbelievers, 
but  there  are  certain  prejudices,  opinions,  customs,  habits  of 
life  and  of  thought  peculiar  to  each  class;  and  especially  is  it 
true  that  a  distinct  Christian  literature  for  Moslems  is  neces¬ 
sary  because  of  the  fundamental  antagonism  on  the  part  of 
Islam  against  Christianity.  The  Moslem  knows  about  Christ 
but  definitely  rejects  Him  and  His  claims.  Literature  pre¬ 
pared  for  Christians  does  not  meet  the  peculiar  mental  and 
moral  and  spiritual  attitude  of  the  Moslem.”  {Turkish 
Report.) 

“We  believe  that  a  distinctive  literature  prepared  especially 
for  Moslems  is  necessary  for  the  following  reasons : 

a.  Because  Islam  has  its  own  points  of  contact  with  the 
gospel,  peculiar  to  it  alone. 

b.  Because  the  mental  attitude  of  Moslems  toward  a  large 
number  of  questions  is  peculiar  to  them  alone,  hence  the  whole 
preparation  of  a  suitable  literature  requires  a  special  knowl¬ 
edge  of  so-called  “Moslem  psychology.” 

c.  Because  special  distorted  views  concerning  the  Bible 
and  Christianity  are  held  by  Moslems,  distortions  which  it 
would  be  folly  to  import  into  books  for  Hindus.”  {Indian 
Report.) 

“Special  literature  is  needed  to  deal  with  the  peculiar  diffi¬ 
culties  of  Moslems.”  {Chinese  Report.) 

“The  impress  of  Islam  in  the  course  of  the  centuries  on 
the  mental  make-up  of  Moslems  has  been  such  that  it  makes 
the  preparation  of  literature  in  view  of  that  mentality  a  neces¬ 
sity.  This  mind  is  so  different  from  that  of  populations  sub¬ 
jected  for  centuries  to  Christian  influence  that  literature  suited 
to  the  latter  is  rarely  suitable  for  it.  In  the  case  of  those 
acquainted  with  the  doctrines  and  theology  of  Islam  it  is 
doubly  necessary  to  have  a  literature  specially  prepared  for 
them,  of  an  apologetic  nature.  Even  the  native  educated  in 
the  French  schools  has  generally  a  peculiar  background  of 
life  and  thought;  and  literature  in  French  for  these,  needs  to 
take  account  of  this  background.  Even  those  professing  to 
be  free-thinking  have  a  peculiar  outlook  on  most  questions, 

[46] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRESS 


a  strange  mixture  of  the  unprogressive  past  and  ill-assimilated 
elements  of  modern  life  and  thought.”  {North  African 
Report.) 

‘‘Literature  prepared  for  Christians  is  often  almost  unin¬ 
telligible  to  Moslems,  because  their  religious  idioms,  outlook 
and  ideals  differ  essentially  from  those  of  Oriental  Christians. 
We  need  writers  and  translators  who  are  themselves  con¬ 
versant  with  Islam  in  language  and  thought.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  literature  must  be  distinctively  against  Islam; 
but  writers  must  with  sympathy  remember  the  special  diffi¬ 
culties  of  the  Moslem  mind,  and  the  special  temptations  of 
Moslem  life,  meeting  these  needs,  not  by  drawing  attention 
to  them  but  by  drawing  attention  to  that  part  of  our  riches 
in  Christ  which  will  best  supply  their  poverty.”  {Egyptian 
Report.) 

Dr.  Wherry  writes : 

“In  a  sense  all  literature  for  Moslems  would  best  be 
written  by  Christian  men  or  women  who  have  been  born  and 
lived  as  Moslems,  but  that  would  eliminate  all  missionary 
authors. 

“On  this  principle  I  have  usually  written  in  English  and 
have  had  a  competent  Christian  convert  from  Islam  translate 
for  me,  telling  him  clearly  to  grasp  the  thought  and  then 
express  it  in  his  own  language  and  idiom,  so  that  his  transla¬ 
tion  might  seem  to  be  his  own  writing;  and  then  I  have 
gone  over  the  whole  with  him  to  see  that  he  has  translated 
correctly.” 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  in  each  country  with  Moslem  elements 
in  the  population,  the  Church  must  provide  special  literature 
for  their  service.  And  it  is  equally  clear  that  though  such 
literature  may  have  national  and  linguistic  and  artistic  traits 
in  common  with  the  other  literature  of  the  land,  it  should  also 
have  vital  relationship  with  Christian  literature  for  Moslems 
produced  in  all  other  countries. 

With  such  general  relationships  in  view  we  now  proceed 
to  look  more  closely  at  to-day’s  task  in  each  of  these  varied 
lands. 


[47] 


Chapter  III 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 

W^isdom  hath  alighted  upon  three  things — the 
brain  of  the  Franks,  the  hand  of  the  Chinese  and 
the  tongue  of  the  Arabs. — Mohammed  ad-Damiri. 


I.  The  Importance  of  the  Arabic  Language 

In  the  year  1809  Henry  Martyn,  in  his  uncomfortable 
bungalow  at  Cawnpore,  received  a  letter  of  request  that  he 
would  superintend  a  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into 
Arabic.  His  mind  caught  fire.  He  forgot  his  surroundings 
where  the  grey  aloes  rattled  in  the  hot  wind,  as  he  pictured  the 
possibilities  of  the  Arabic  language,  could  it  but  speak  the 
things  of  Christ.  ‘‘It  is  the  most  important  version  of  all,’' 
he  wrote  to  a  friend,  “Arabic  being  understood  not  only  in 
Syria,  Tartary,  Persia,  India  and  many  parts  of  China,  but 
through  a  large  part  of  Africa,  and  all  along  the  south  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean.” 

The  present  survey,  made  more  than  a  century  later,  only 
underlines  the  words  of  that  pioneer,  as  it  shows  the  greatest 
language  of  Islam  still  an  almost  unmatched  instrument  for 
the  spread  of  truth,  and  still  waiting  a  serious,  concentrated 
and  united  effort  to  make  it  speak  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus. 

“The  importance  of  Christian  literature  in  Arabic  cannot 
be  overestimated.  A  tongue  which  the  Arabs  call  ‘the  language 
of  the  angels’  is  among  living  languages  one  of  the  most  deli¬ 
cate  in  structure,  immense  in  vocabulary  and  of  great  possi¬ 
bility  for  the  expression  of  every  form  of  thought.  It  is  the 
chief  vehicle  of  the  Moslem  religion.”  {Egypt  Report.) 

[48] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


The  Arabic  character  is  used  more  widely  than  any  other 
character.  The  Roman  character  has  a  greater  output  of 
literature;  the  Chinese  character  is  used  by  more  people, 
vastly  more;  but  the  Arabic  character  has  spread  with  Islam 
over  a  much  wider  area.  The  whole  of  North  Africa  from 
the  Red  Sea  to  Rio  de  Oro  has  adopted  the  Arabic  character. 
It  has  been  carried  through  a  large  part  of  central  Africa.  At 
Oyo  in  the  Yoruba  Country  “it  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon 
sight  to  see  children  carrying  their  ^slates’  of  Arabic  texts, 
which  they  learn  to  repeat  parrot  fashion.” 

On  the  other  side  of  the  continent  in  Yaoland,  bordering 
on  Lake  Nyassa,  “hundreds  of  Moslems  have  their  own  copies 
of  the  Koran,  and  can  read  them  too;  but  understand  next 
to  nothing  of  what  they  read.” 

Arabic  has  penetrated  the  far  eastern  world  also.  It  is 
taught  in  the  Moslem  schools  of  Indo-China.  It  is  consider¬ 
ably  spoken  in  the  city  of  Bangkok.  “In  the  Philippines  and 
Malaysia  the  books  used  by  the  Moslems,  who  number  nearly 
40,000,000  souls,  are  mostly  in  Arabic  script.”  And  though 
the  script  is  used  for  local  languages,  we  yet  find  that  “the 
catalogue  of  books  sold  by  a  Moslem  bookseller  at  Singapore 
contains  245  titles  of  Mohammedan  books  in  the  Arabic  lan¬ 
guage.”  {Malaysia  Report.)  Even  in  China  with  its  own 
venerable  culture,  “written  Arabic  is  in  use  by  the  Mollahs. 
A  little  Arabic  and  Persian  literature  filters  into  the  North¬ 
west  from  Central  Asia.  It  is  carried  by  Moslem  merchants 
and  pilgrims  returning  from  Mecca  and  certainly  has  some 
influence.”  {China  Report.)  One  missionary  from  Shensi 
reported  seven  mosque  schools  teaching  Arabic,  and  four 
schools  outside  the  mosques,  where  it  was  taught  to  girls 
under  sixteen  years  of  age. 

In  India  the  great  languages  of  the  north  have  owed  much 
in  the  past  to  the  Arabic  script  and  vocabulary,  but  there  is 
also  a  current  intercourse;  “Translations  of  standard  theo¬ 
logical  and  literary  works  from  the  original  Persian  or  Arabic 
are  of  course  to  be  found  all  over  India,  and  the  originals  are 
being  regularly  imported  by  booksellers  in  such  places  as  Bom¬ 
bay,  Calcutta,  Cawnpore  and  Lahore.  Also  travelling 

[49] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


preachers  from  Arabia,  Persia  and  Syria  are  to  be  found  all 
over  India,  and  these  undoubtedly  bring  books  with  them/’ 

And  the  great  language  reached  out  also  to  the  north. 
Before  the  war,  St.  Petersburg  and  Kazan  were  both  centres 
for  the  publication  of  the  Arabic  Koran  in  editions  which 
claimed  to  surpass  in  correctness  those  of  Cairo  and  Stamboul. 

Standard  Arabic  works  for  the  Moslem  world,  as  well  as 
for  European  scholars,  are  printed  at  Leipzig  and  other  Euro¬ 
pean  centres. 

Even  in  the  new  world  there  are  men  who  say  their  prayers 
and  read  their  newspapers  in  Arabic.  In  South  America  where 
there  are  nearly  160,000  Moslems,  we  learn  that  in  Brazil 
alone  seven  Arabic  newspapers  are  published. 

Nor  must  the  Arabic  newspapers  of  the  United  States  be 
forgotten,  published  at  New  York  and  Chicago. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts,  and  the  continued  spread  of  the 
use  of  Arabic,  not  only  in  Africa  but  even  in  China,  the  im¬ 
portance  of  an  Arabic  literature  that  shall  speak  for  Christ 
is  self-evident. 


II.  T he  Scope  of  this  C hapter. 

The  survey  has  provided  reports  from  Arabia,  the  very 
home  of  Islam  and  of  Arabic,  from  Syria  and  Palestine,  from 
Morocco,  Algeria,  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  and  from  Egypt. 

Of  all  these  Arabic  countries  Egypt  so  far  takes  precedence 
in  the  provision  of  Christian  literature  for  Moslems,  since 
political  conditions  set  her  free,  before  her  sister  lands,  to 
print  and  circulate  such  literature.  The  earliest  efforts  were 
made  from  the  island  of  Malta  which  gave  a  safe  foothold 
for  a  mission  press  in  the  Near  East.  The  Church  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  began  literary  work  there  at  the  close  of  the 
Napoleonic  War  in  1815  and  set  up  a  printing  press  in  1827. 
The  American  Press  was  established  in  1822.  In  1834  it 
was  moved  to  Syria,  where  it  has  had  a  great  career  as  the 
Beirut  American  Press,  known  throughout  the  Near  East. 

In  lands  directly  under  Turkish  sway,  however,  the  Chris- 

[50] 


THE  NILE  MISSION  PRESS,  CAIRO 


■  -■.  ^  ^  v  ;•  .i^;.  'v;  ■ .'  ^-4^= 

'■4 JJ.;-?;.' -  ,;•  aft?:*/  ;^'o:,4':,’:^4.Vb^-' ■  ••/■^ 

-•  ’  *f  y/*^.*^*  =  '  ■-■  r  t  '  ■'  'T.'  V 


m 


••  ir 

fj 

rh 

i^..  : 


■-1:?®v*4'-/-  ■  ■■  '-  '-•  :  4-;  . ;  s  =■'  ;  ■' r^K^'s  .■ 

4^*^iE4r'' ^  ■■ 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


tian  press  was  muzzled,  and  both  the  American  Press  at  Beirut, 
and  that  of  the  Jesuits  in  the  same  city  (founded  in  1847), 
carried  on  their  work  under  most  strangling  restrictions. 
Egypt  may  be  said  to  have  had  a  twenty  years  start  in  pub¬ 
lication  for  Moslems  and  to  have  done  much  work  that  will 
serve  the  whole  Arabic  world.  But  with  greater  freedom  in 
all  Arabic  lands,  we  may  now  look  also  for  more  intimate 
national  developments  in  each  country. 

The  press  in  any  Arabic  land  will  have  a  double  relation¬ 
ship, — it  will  be  the  servant  of  the  people  of  one  land  in  so 
far  as  it  meets  their  distinctive  needs,  and  it  will  be  the  servant 
of  all  Arabic  lands  in  so  far  as  it  meets  common  needs. 

In  this  chapter  we  will  first  briefly  survey  the  Christian 
literature  in  each  Arabic  land  in  relation  to  national  and  local 
needs.  Then  we  will  turn  and  consider  these  national  under¬ 
takings  as  contributions  to  one  great  Arabic  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  common  to  the  whole  Arabic-reading  world.  And  as  the 
subject  is  a  very  big  one  we  confine  ourselves  in  this  chapter 
to  the  answering  of  two  questions  : 

1.  What  have  the  Christian  forces  in  each  country  already 

published^ 

2.  And  what  do  they  need  to  publish f 

Other  equally  vital  questions,  as  for  instance,  “How  will 
they  produce,  and  how  will  they  circulate  such  literature?” 
must  be  left  for  another  chapter. 

Ill.  Christian  Literature  in  Egypt 

In  Cairo,  more  than  in  any  other  city,  the  double  relation¬ 
ship  of  literature  is  emphasised,  for  Cairo  is  the  greatest 
distribution  centre  of  the  Moslem  press.  “The  number  of 
printing  and  publishing  houses  in  Egypt  is  estimated  at  217. 
They  are  largely  concentrated  in  Cairo,  in  the  Darb  al  Ahmar 
quarter.  Some  of  these  publishing  concerns  have  agents  in 
Java,  Sumatra,  the  Sudan,  West  Africa,  Zanzibar,  Cape 
Colony  and  South  America.” 


[51] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


It  is  clear  that  no  one  producing  Arabic  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in  Cairo  can  afford  to  be  Egypt-centred.  Literature 
from  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  Cairo,  circulates  in  Brazil  and 
in  China,  while  North  Africa,  Arabia  and  the  Egyptian  Sudan 
also  report  their  dependence  on  Cairo  for  a  great  part  of  their 
supply  of  Christian  books.  But  Cairo  is  not  only  a  dis¬ 
tributing  centre  for  the  Moslem  world.  It  is  the  capital  of  a 
nation  with  more  and  more  national  self-consciousness.  If 
the  Christian  press  in  Cairo  might  fail  by  becoming  Egypt- 
centred,  it  might  also  fail  by  forgetting  its  obligation  to  form 


the  beginnings  of  a  national  Arabic  Christian  literature  for 
the  twelve  million  people  immediately  surrounding  it. 

The  Christian  publication  agencies  in  Egypt  are  the  Nile 
Mission  Press,  the  Literature  Committee  of  the  American 
Mission  (United  Presbyterian),  the  Literature  Committee  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  (partly  in  connexion  with 
S.P.C.K.  London),  the  Committee  of  the  World’s  Sunday 
School  Association,  the  Literature  Department  of  the  Egypt 
General  Mission,  and  the  Editorial  Board  of  Orient  and 
Occident.  The  American  Christian  Literature  Society  for 
Moslems  (New  York)  has  given  generous  financial  help  to 
these  various  bodies  on  the  field.  With  the  great  exception 
of  the  Nile  Mission  Press  the  output  of  all  of  these  is  small 

[52] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


in  quantity  (the  longest  list  is  of  thirty-two  titles),  but  each 
has  brought  distinctive  gifts  to  the  work. 

The  chief  producer  has  been  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  on 
whose  publication  committee  the  other  agencies  have  given 
voluntary  service.  The  Nile  Mission  Press  catalogue  repre¬ 
sents  the  largest  contribution  of  the  Christian  Church  through 
any  one  society  to  Arabic  literature  for  the  Moslem  world. 
The  last  edition  of  the  catalogue  shows  eighty-two  books 
(counting  as  a  book  everything  above  50  pp.  in  length)  and 
upwards  of  320  smaller  tracts.  Looked  at  from  the  point  of 


LITERACY  IN  EGYPT 

ACCORDING  TO  RELIGION 


MOSLEMS 


CHRISTIANS 


5% 

LITERATE 


ai% 

UTERATE 


JEWS 


44% 

UTERATE 


view  of  devoted  toil  on  the  part  of  the  small  personnel  in 
Egypt  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  A.  T.  Upson,  this  output 
is  heroic.  But  looked  at  in  relation  to  the  whole  Christian 
Church,  as  her  largest  literary  contribution  to  the  Arabic 
Moslem  world,  it  is  pitiful.  This  whole  output  can  still  be 
purchased  for  L.E.  5  including  the  library  of  the  Moslem 
controversy,  the  books  intended  for  Jews,  and  the  books  for 
Christians,  down  to  the  baby’s  picture  book.  It  is  true,  how¬ 
ever,  that  this  sum  represents  the  lowest  price  possible  for 
manufacture  and  sale.  No  mission  press  has  done  more  im¬ 
portant  work. 

What  has  been  done  is  invaluable.  Its  weight  is  far  greater 
than  its  bulk,  for  not  a  book  comes  from  the  Press  but  is 

[53] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


published  with  definite  purpose  and  definite  prayer.  This  small 
total  price  is  in  part  the  result  of  a  definite  policy.  Mr.  Upson 
writes  ‘Tt  is  our  proudest  boast,  as  it  was  our  deliberate  aim,  to 
publish  cheap  penny  tracts  in  paper  covers,  that  the  wayfaring 
man  might  find  the  way  of  salvation  in  Christ  Jesus,  however 
poor  he  might  be.’'  All  honour  to  this  policy.  Only  it  is 
inconceivable  that  this  output  in  any  way  represents  all  that 
the  Church  of  Christ  can  do,  in  the  intellectual  capital  of 
Islam,  to  provide  a  literature  that  shall  set  forth  the  Christ 
before  Moslems,  that  shall  present  Christian  teaching  in  all 
its  fulness  to  the  man  who  decides  to  leave  all  and  follow 
Christ,  and  that  shall  form  the  Christian  home-reading  of  the 
little  children  or  the  boys  and  girls  whom  such  a  man  must 
struggle  to  bring  up  for  Christ  in  the  environment  of  a 
Moslem  city. 

NOTEWORTHY  FEATURES  OF  THE  NILE  MISSION  PRESS 

LITERATURE 

(a)  Standard  Controversial  Works:  The  Nile 
Mission  Press  has  already  provided  a  whole  series  of  standard 
works  on  the  Moslem  controversy,  such  as  the  Apology 
of  Al  Kindy,  and  translations  of  Mizan  id  Haqq,  Miftah  ul 
A  star  and  Sales’  Preliminary  Discourse,  and  others.  A  work 
on  the  deity  of  our  Lord  under  the  title  of  The  Lord  of 
Glory  is  now  in  preparation. 

(b)  Series  of  Tracts:  This  Press  has  also  proved  par¬ 
ticularly  strong  in  its  output  of  tracts,  some  of  which  are 
available  in  English  basic  manuscripts,  and  have  been  trans¬ 
lated  into  many  other  languages.  The  420  titles  of  the  Press 
include,  besides  individual  tracts  on  various  subjects,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  series  on  connected  subjects : 

50  Portionettes,  or  leaflets  in  the  words  of  Scripture. 

22  Khutbas,  or  tracts  in  the  style  of  a  mosque  sermon. 

21  Story-Parables,  the  work  of  Miss  Lilias  Trotter  and 
her  helpers. 

12  Parables  from  the  same  source,  printed  in  two  colours 
for  women  and  children. 

[54] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


19  “Zwemer  tracts”  for  Moslems,  with  cover  illustrations. 

12  Grace  and  Truth  Series,  by  Dr.  A.  P.  Mackay. 

17  Purity  tracts. 

5  Temperance  tracts. 

(c)  Christ’s  Message  for  the  Social  Life  :  The  purity 
and  temperance  tracts  above-mentioned,  together  with  a 
longer  temperance  story,  a  tract  on  kindness  to  animals 
and  a  tract  against  the  all-prevalent  lottery,  mark  the  small 
beginnings  of  a  witness  by  Christian  literature  for  social 
righteousness.  In  all  countries  the  bulk  of  such  literature 
takes  pamphlet  form,  as  being  more  mobile  and  rapid  for  the 
meeting  of  special  needs  as  they  arise.  N.M.P.  has  also  in 
preparation  a  translation  of  The  Out  castes'  Hope,  a  work  of 
special  importance  from  its  testimony  to  the  uplifting  power 
of  Christ  among  depressed  classes. 

(d)  Christ’s  Message  for  Moslem  Mystics:  At 
Cairo,  besides  one  book  and  two  pamphlets  on  al  Ghazzali,  the 
Press  has  made  a  beginning  in  the  presentation  of  Christ  to 
the  Sufi  by  the  recent  publication  of  The  Problem  of  Self 
(Miss  P.  Hearst  and  Mr.  A.  T.  Upson)  and  The  Inward  Way 
(Rev.  J.  Takle). 

(e)  The  Bible  for  Moslems:  A  beginning  of  ex¬ 
treme  importance  was  made  by  publishing  one  book  of  the 
Bible,  St.  Matthew,  with  special  notes  for  Moslems,  pre¬ 
pared  by  Mr.  George  Swan  of  the  Egypt  General  Mission. 
This  first  volume  still  awaits  a  successor. 

(f)  Bahaism  :  The  one  tract  under  the  title  of  The 
Truth  about  Babism  and  Behaism  is  the  only  Christian  utter¬ 
ance  in  Arabic  on  this  subject. 

(g)  Biographies:  A  recent  development  of  great  im¬ 
portance  is  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Upson’s  series  of  biog¬ 
raphies  of  heroes  of  the  Christian  Church. 

(h)  The  Message  of  the  Keswick  Convention: 
A  strong  note  of  the  literature  prepared  for  Christians 
by  N.M.P.  is  the  message  so  closely  associated  with  the 
Keswick  Convention,  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  believer’s  life.  The  note  of  revival  and  spiritual  awaken¬ 
ing  is  clearly  sounded. 


[55] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


(i)  Stories:  The  Nile  Mission  Press  has  not  yet  found 
its  story-writer,  eastern  or  western,  who  can  do  in  Egypt 
what  A.L.O.E.  did  in  India.  But  it  has  a  handful  of  trans¬ 
lated  stories  from  several  sources,  including  perhaps  the 
earliest  story  written  for  eastern  readers  by  a  writer  from  the 
West  (Mrs.  Sherwood’s  Indian  Pilgrim,  begun  in  i8ii  at 
Daniel  Corrie’s  instigation,  as  an  expression  of  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  Henry  Martyn’s  work  in  Cawnpore).  The  Press  has 
also  translated  several  of  Miss  Louise  Marston’s  stories,  sev¬ 
eral  short  stories  from  the  Algiers  Mission  Band,  one  by 
A.L.O.E.  and  one  by  Ballantyne. 


NOTEWORTHY  FEATURES  OF  THE  LITERATURE  PRODUCED  BY 

OTHER  SOCIETIES  IN  EGYPT 

(a)  The  Moslem  Controversy:  In  the  work  of  some 
other  societies  we  have  to  note  further  additions  to  the 
special  apologetics  for  Moslems.  Thus  the  American  Mis¬ 
sion  adds,  among  other  contributions,  translations  of  two  of 
Sir  William  Muir’s  shorter  works,  as  well  as  the  massive  and 
important  oriental  work  called  Al  Hiddya,  a  detailed  polemic 
reply  to  Izhar  al  Haqq.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  adds 
half  a  dozen  small  books  prepared  by  Canon  Gairdner,  each 
on  a  single  topic.  These  books,  which  are  published  also  in 
English  by  the  Christian  Literature  Society  for  India,  are 
important  because  each  strikes  out  a  fresh  line  of  presenta¬ 
tion;  they  have  done  much  to  give  direction  to  the  newer 
apologetic. 

(b)  Colloquial:  The  Egypt  General  Mission,  both  in 
its  active  evangelistic  magazine,  Beshair  as  Saldm,  and  still 
more  in  its  colloquial  leaflets  and  Scriptures,  sounds  the  note  of 
special  care  to  bring  the  message  of  Christ  within  the  reach  of 
the  simple  and  unlearned.  This  very  slender  store  of  collo¬ 
quial  literature  has  lately  been  increased  also  by  the  inde¬ 
pendent  publications  which  represent  the  spiritual  service  of 
Sir  William  Willcocks  to  a  country  that  he  has  served  so 
greatly  in  material  things. 

[56] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


(c)  Studies  in  Bible  Characters:  To  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  Egypt  owes  the  illustrated  series  of 
lives  of  the  patriarchs,  and  of  the  lives  of  Christ  and  of  St. 
Paul,  specially  prepared  with  reference  to  the  difficulties  of 
Moslem  readers.  And  to  these  have  recently  been  added  three 
biblical  dramas  in  which  the  reader’s  historical  imagination  is 
called  into  the  service  of  spiritual  teaching. 

(d)  Sunday  School  Literature:  The  World’s 
Sunday  School  Association  has  given  to  the  Arabic  coun¬ 
tries  a  series  of  leaflets,  with  a  few  books  found  useful  in 
the  West,  on  the  work  and  training  of  the  Sunday  school 
teacher.  Here  again  we  see  the  beginning  of  an  important 
movement,  the  value  of  which  cannot  readily  be  overestimated. 
Such  teacher-training  lies  at  the  basis  of  progress. 

(e)  Magazine  Literature:  Besides  the  magazines 
planned  for  Moslem  evangelisation,  like  Beshair  as  Saldm 
above  mentioned,  Al  Hudd,  the  Church  paper  of  the  American 
Mission  (U.P.),  has  its  Moslem  readers.  It  has  recently 
set  apart  a  woman’s  page  with  a  special  editor.  Al  Najm, 
the  children’s  Sunday  school  paper  of  the  same  Church, 
reaches  a  considerable  number  of  Moslem  pupils,  while  Al 
Band  al  Masri  is  sent  to  post-office  officials.  In  this  class  of 
literature,  Orient  and  Occident  holds  a  unique  position  as  the 
Christian  magazine  of  most  weight  and  influence  in  the  Near 
East,  with  a  considerable  Moslem  constituency.  The  pages 
of  Orient  'and  Occident  have  already  provided  material  for 
reprints  in  permanent  form,  yielding  more  than  half  a  dozen 
useful  books,  some  published  by  the  Nile  Mission  Press  and 
some  by  C.M.S.  Now  that  the  magazine  is  under  a  joint 
editorial  board,  may  Egypt  not  hope  for  further  journalistic 
developments,  reaching  others  than  the  Effendi  class  to  whom 
in  particular  Orient  and  Occident  appeals? 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  literature  existing,  when  all  present 
resources  are  counted  up,  touches  many  fields  of  thought  and 
interest;  but,  except  in  the  answers  to  Moslem  arguments,  it 
is  almost  at  the  beginning  of  effort  in  many  fields.  The 
achievements  have  been  great,  but  the  tasks  ahead  are  immeas¬ 
urably  greater. 


[57] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


LITERATURE  NEEDED  IN  EGYPT 

The  report  voices  the  following  needs : 

(a)  Apologetics:  “The  modern  output  of  the  distinc¬ 
tively  anti-Christian  literature  will  demand  attention  and  in 
some  cases  a  reply.  We  need  Christian  apologetics  to  help 
those  getting  westernised  education  and  thus  exposed  to  west¬ 
ern  attacks  on  the  Christian  position  and  to  western  heresies. 
For  the  student  class  our  literature  needs  immediately  a 
broadening  along  the  lines  of  the  Student  Christian  Move¬ 
ment  publications  in  America  and  Britain ;  also  the  adaptation 
of  some  of  the  leading  papers  on  Christianity  and  modern 
thought,  and  the  Bible  and  modern  science,  as  found  in  the 
annual  volumes  of  the  Victoria  Institute  of  London.  The 
publication  of  such  a  series  would  meet  the  cheap  unscientific 
arguments  of  Moslem  infidelity  and  hypercriticism. 

(b)  Literature  on  the  Bible:  “We  need  a  much 
more  varied  literature  on  the  Bible.  Every  convert  needs  the 
deepening  of  his  thought  life  by  Christ  and  our  literature 
might  breed  up  a  set  who  regarded  the  Bible  as  a  text-book  for 
the  Islamic  controversy,  missing  its  message  for  the  whole  of 
life  and  thought.  Of  commentaries ^  readable  and  attractive 
to  the  lay  reader,  it  is  probable  that  we  need  more  than  one 
complete  series.  Each  should  come  out  in  parts  at  first : 
(a)  running  commentaries  in  the  style  of  Baidhawi,  (b)  text 
with  very  short  notes  explaining  or  underlining  points  of  spe¬ 
cial  interest  to  Moslems,  (c)  notes  on  daily-portion  series 
(d)  translations  or  adaptations  of  some  of  the  famous  com¬ 
mentaries  of  modern  times.”  These  last  have  their  special 
importance,  the  report  points  out,  from  the  fact  that  modern 
Islam  uses  as  a  favourite  weapon,  rationalistic  and  destructive 
attacks  on  Christianity  learned  from  the  anti-Christian  forces 
of  the  West.  Theosophy  and  Christian  Science  are  among  us 
too.  Young  educated  Egyptian  Christians,  like  students  in 
other  lands,  cannot  escape  meeting  these  new  forces.  We 
shall  not  have  acted  fairly  by  them,  or  by  our  Moslem  brethren 
who  bring  forward  such  attacks  with  triumphant  conviction, 
if  we  do  not  put  at  their  disposal  the  best  work  of  reverent 

[58] 


FEMINISM  IN  THE  SUDAN 

Women  at  Khartoum  who  are  learning  to  read  with  the  assistance  of  an 
educated  Egyptian  Bible  woman. 


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*  I  •  A  .  -y 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


Christian  scholarship  of  recent  times.  The  Egyptian  Church 
like  the  Church  in  other  lands  must  be  ready  not  only  to  die 
for  the  faith  that  is  in  her,  but  to  give  a  reason  for  it. 

“We  also  need  books,  short  and  clear,  to  guide  the  Moslem 
in  reading  the  Bible — possibly  with  references  to  passages 
under  various  subject  headings,  e.g.,  the  Unity  of  God, 
Instances  of  answered  Prayers,  Conditions  of  Prayer.  A 
guide  through  the  Bible  in  explaining  the  order  (or  non¬ 
order)  of  books,  with  sections  arranged  chronologically. 
Leaflets  of  Gospel  incidents  or  parables  with  suitable  intro¬ 
duction  and  brief  notes  to  help  explain  terms  objected  to,  like 
‘Son  of  God,’  avoiding  the  offence  now  caused  by  our  unex¬ 
plained  ‘portionettes.’  ” 

(c)  Literature  on  Christ’s  Message  for  Life: 
“The  emphasis  of  our  literature  has  been  too  much  on 
doctrine  and  too  little  on  practice  of  Christianity.  Greater 
emphasis  is  required  on  the  redemptive  power  of  Christianity 
for  society,  and  the  application  of  Christian  principles  to  the 
personal  and  moral  side  of  life;  biographies  of  heroes  and 
heroines  of  service;  stories  picturing  true  home  life;  books 
on  the  position,  influence,  special  work  and  opportunities  of 
women;  biographies  of  women;  books  on  missions  and  world 
peace;  booklets  on  moral,  social  and  international  problems 
from  the  Christian  standpoint.” 

(d)  General  Home  Reading:  Nearly  all  of  the  litera¬ 
ture  of  home  life  is  yet  lacking,  such  as  rhymes,  games, 
home  lessons,  handwork,  nature  books,  home  handicrafts, 
general  stories,  adventure  stories.  “We  need  a  whole  litera¬ 
ture  to  give  healthy  interests  in  the  world  around  us.  We 
need  the  adaptation  of  such  material  as  is  found  in  Popular 
Science;  also  books  describing  other  countries,  peoples,  habits, 
with  the  underlying  purpose  of  making  clear  causes  of  strength 
and  weakness.  Simple  books  on  fundamentals  of  physiology, 
first  aid  and  hygiene  and  also  some  equivalent  to  the  Home 
University  Library  would  be  very  useful.” 

(e)  Books  for  the  Semi-Literate:  “There  is  a 
great  and  populous  borderland  between  literacy  and  illiter¬ 
acy.  We  need  to  prepare  a  large  assortment  of  simple 

[59] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


illustrated  books,  especially  with  coloured  pictures.  Whether 
for  the  highly  educated  or  for  these  simple  folk  we  have  not 
used  the  power  of  verse.  Egypt  is  a  land  of  poets  and  poetry, 
yet  she  is  very  short  of  popular  hymns  and  religious  poetry. 
A  medical  missionary  of  long  experience  expresses  the  urgent 
need  for  a  very  short  Story  of  Jesus  in  colloquial  or  easy 
classical  rhyme,  with  a  repeated  chorus  for  use  at  clinics  and 
in  village  evangelism.  The  eagerness  with  which  audiences 
take  up  the  chorus  of  a  psalm  or  hymn  is  very  suggestive  of 
larger  and  wider  use  of  this  method,  so  successful  in  India 
and  Korea.  We  must  teach  the  people  to  sing  the  gospel 
story,  and  experiments  must  be  continued  in  different  types 
of  versification.  Colloquial  verse  should  be  composed  to 
a  tune.” 


IF.  C hristian  Literature  in  Syria  and  Palestine 

Syria,  which  produced  so  great  a  literature  in  the  early 
Christian  centuries,  was  the  country  of  the  first  effort  of  the 
reformed  Churches  in  Christian  apology  for  Moslems.  Ed¬ 
ward  Pocock,  who  had  made  himself  a  profound  Arabic 
scholar  while  chaplain  of  the  English  factory  at  Aleppo,  trans¬ 
lated,  after  consultation  at  Paris  with  the  learned  author, 
Grotius  De  Veritate  Religionis  Christianae.  This  work  was 
put  into  circulation  at  Beirut  in  1660.  But  Beirut  had  long  to 
wait  for  a  more  systematised  effort. 

The  literature  scrutinised  by  the  present  survey  is  the 
product  of  the  American  Press,  moved  from  Malta  to  Beirut 
in  1834,  but  sorely  harassed  in  the  past  by  Turkish  restrictions 
which  made  publication  for  Moslems  impracticable. 

The  Catholic  (Jesuit)  Press,  founded  in  1850,  in  Beirut, 
besides  publishing  Roman  Catholic  works  has  specialised  on 
works  of  scholarship,  with  antiquarian,  scientific  and  his¬ 
torical  and  linguistic  interests.  Its  dictionaries  and  standard 
edition  of  the  Arabian  Nights  are  known  of  all.  It  has  spe¬ 
cialised  in  work  dealing  with  the  relation  of  science  and  reli¬ 
gion  and  in  Christian  apologetic  based  on  most  careful  re- 
[60] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


search  into  Islamic  history  and  the  mediaeval  Christian 
writings  that  bear  on  the  subject. 

The  Beirut  literature,  under  the  cruel  muzzling  of  the 
Turks,  had  to  be  prepared  for  Christians  only.  It  was  not 
even  permissible  to  make  Christian  books  comprehensible  to 
Moslem  readers  by  inserting  in  their  interest  explanations  of 
terms  difficult  and  offensive  to  them. 

Similar  conditions  have  of  course  prevailed  in  the  past 
under  Turkish  rule  in  Palestine,  where,  for  this  and  other 
reasons,  the  literary  side  of  Mission  work  has  been  of  late 
very  much  in  the  background.  Though  the  country  is  hungry 
for  reading  matter,  it  is  not  producing  any  Christian  litera¬ 
ture,  or  is  doing  so  to  an  imponderable  extent.  There  is  one 
very  small  weekly  paper  in  connection  with  the  Jerusalem  con¬ 
gregation  of  the  American  Alliance  Mission.  Owing  to  the 
small  population  of  the  country,  it  would  be  difficult,  even 
with  the  new  eagerness  for  reading,  to  make  publications  pay 
unless  they  could  be  shared  by  other  lands.  Yet  there  is  a 
special  interest  for  the  Moslem  world  in  books  that  come 
from  Jerusalem;  and  the  trans-Jordanian  missions  of  Pales¬ 
tine  are  in  direct  touch  with  Moslems  from  Mecca,  Medina 
and  most  parts  of  Arabia.  Palestine  has,  compared  with  most 
Moslem  countries,  an  influential  native  Church  which  however 
has  not  yet  risen  to  the  task  of  preparing  Christian  literature, 
but  is  dependent  for  its  supply  upon,  the  Beirut  and  Cairo 
mission  presses. 

The  Rev.  W.  W.  Cash  writes : 

‘‘There  is  no  missionary  in  Palestine  who  has  specialised 
on  literature,  and  no  one  who  has  made  a  study  of  Moslem 
literature  with  sufficient  fulness  to  be  able  to  tackle  literary 
work  as  has  been  done  by  Dr.  Zwemer  and  Canon  Gairdner. 
Consequently  there  is  a  lack  of  real  interest  in  literature 
production. 

“Yet  Palestine  offers  open  doors  for  Moslem  work,  in  a 
way  seldom  if  ever  before  known. 

“Direct  Moslem  evangelism  will  probably  be  a  feature  of 
post-war  mission  methods,  and  already  there  are  signs  that 
the  missionaries  feel  that  pre-war  methods  will  not  do  and 

[6i] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


that  they  must  think  out  anew  the  best  way  of  approaching 
the  Arab  mind  in  Palestine.  In  this,  literature  will  form  an 
important  factor. 

‘The  traditions  of  the  old  Turkish  rule  make  it  inadvisable 
that  some  of  the  literature  of  the  most  aggressive  type  be 
used.  Moslems  have  not  yet  adjusted  themselves  to  the  new 
conditions  and  they  are  apt  to  take  fright  at  booklets,  khutbas, 
etc.,  that  make  a  frontal  attack  on  the  tenets  of  their  faith. 
At  the  same  time  the  Moslem  of  Palestine  to-day  is  willing  to 
discuss  Christianity  with  an  open  mind,  and  he  is  anxious  to 
know  what  we  do  believe  and  why  we  believe  it. 

“This  peculiar  condition  forms  both  an  opportunity  and  a 
danger.  Evangelisation  may  be  set  back  by  the  unwise  dis¬ 
tribution  of  some  types  of  literature  for  Moslems.  But  the 
open-minded  way  the  Moslems  receive  us  gives  us  a  great 
opportunity. 

“All  this  may  appear  irrelevant  to  a  survey  of  literature, 
but  I  say  it  to  make  one  point,  that  in  thinking  of  literature 
for  such  a  country  as  Palestine  some  specialisation  should  be 
done,  and  only  literature  carefully  scrutinised  should  be 
distributed.’^ 


NOTEWORTHY  FEATURES  OF  THE  LITERATURE  PUBLISHED  IN 

SYRIA 

(a)  Educational  Books:  The  press  has  been  per¬ 
mitted,  under  a  galling  censorship,  to  produce  literature  for  the 
education  of  the  Christian  community  and  until  the  recent 
developments  of  Government  education  it  has  been  the  chief 
source  in  Syria,  Palestine  and  Arabia  for  Arabic  readers  and 
general  school  books,  while  it  is  the  printer  of  several  im¬ 
portant  dictionaries. 

(b)  Biblical:  Shut  off  from  interpreting  the  Bible  to 
non-Christians,  the  press  has  determined  at  least  to  provide 
helps  for  Bible  study  by  Christians,  and  has  produced  the 
only  complete  commentary  on  the  New  Testament  in  Arabic, 
and  the  only  Bible  dictionary,  concordance,  and  scripture 

[62] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


atlas.  Works  on  theology  have  also  been  prepared  for  the 
training  and  use  of  the  Arabic  Christian  ministry. 

(c)  Story  Literature  :  Still  with  the  Christian  Church 
in  view,  it  has  produced  story  translations  some  of  which 
are  among  the  most  popular  works  in  the  Near  East,  such 
as  Ben  Hur.  Most  of  such  stories,  being  translations  from 
such  writers  as  the  author  of  Christie's  Old  Organ,  are 
almost  incomprehensible  to  Moslems,  but  there  are  exceptions. 
The  Pilgrim's  Progress  translated  by  Bustani  has  had  a  large 
circulation  and  is  much  admired.  A  hopeful  sign  is  the  recent 
production  by  some  younger  Syrian  writers  of  clean  stories  in 
original  Arabic,  which  bears  promise  of  future  literary  service 
by  Syrian  Christians  for  their  countrymen  of  the  various 
faiths. 

(d)  Apologetic  Literature  for  Moslems:  Syria 
has  never  been  without  her  witnesses  to  Moslems.  Chief 
among  such  writers  was  the  Protestant  pastor  named  ‘Atiyah, 
author  of  the  well-known  Sweet  First  Fruits,  translated 
and  appreciated  in  so  many  eastern  languages,  Mandr  at 
Haqq  and  other  works.  ^‘These  could  not  be  issued  from 
Beirut,”  says  the  report,  ‘‘or  freely  used  in  Syria.  They  were 
published  in  Egypt  and  only  used  in  Syria  with  much  caution 
under  the  intensely  bitter  opposition  of  the  Turkish  Govern¬ 
ment.  The  manuscript  of  a  further  work,  the  fruit  of  the 
writer’s  ripest  years,  was  destroyed,  or  at  least  seized  by  the 
Turks  and  never  returned,  during  the  war  years.”  Since  the 
new  freedom  of  the  press  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Ford  has  begun  the 
production  of  booklets  especially  for  Moslems,  with  the  issue 
of  Nur  al  'Alam  and  The  Birthday  Gift.  He  hopes  to  de¬ 
velop  this  line  of  work  and  is  publishing  privately  an  im¬ 
portant  Life  of  Christ. 

literature  needed 

The  report  emphasises  the  following  needs,  not  as  cover¬ 
ing  the  whole  ground  of  literature  production  but  as  of  out¬ 
standing  urgency: 


[63] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


1.  ‘There  seems  a  fairly  general  consensus  of  opinion 
that  Moslems  in  Syria  do  not  know  the  simple  elements  of 
evangelical  Christian  teaching.  These  simple  elements  should 
be  stated  by  one  who  knows  the  doctrines  of  Islam.” 

2.  Wholesome  Christian  stories  and  biographies  for 
young  people,  entertaining  reading,  and  Christian  stories  of 
adventure. 

3.  Books  for  women,  especially  biographies. 

Palestine  adds  the  following  note  on  the  character  of  the 
literature  desired : 

“The  Moslem  of  Palestine  has  not  got  the  traditions  of 
the  Azhar  behind  him.  He  does  often  look  at  things  with  a 
freshness  not  always  found  in  Cairo,  and  he  needs  the  best 
the  Christian  writers  can  give  him.  He  has  a  natural  interest 
in  the  stories  connected  with  the  very  land  in  which  he  lives. 
He  always  responds  to  anything  on  the  life  and  character  of 
our  Lord.  He  will  reason  and  discuss,  but  he  does  not  seem 
to  be  as  fond  of  an  argument  as  the  Moslem  of  Egypt.” 

Other  branches  of  literature  needed  in  Palestine  are  books 
for  native  Christians :  Bible-study  books,  devotional  books. 

It  should  be  remembered  in  this  connection  that  most  of 
the  Christians  of  Palestine  belong  to  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church,  and  will  need  literature  of  a  special  type.” 

V.  Arabia  and  ‘Iraq. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  days  of  A1  Ma’mun  hundreds  of 
camels  used  to  file  into  Baghdad  laden  with  no  other  freight 
than  volumes  of  Greek,  Hebrew,  Syriac  and  Persian  literature 
for  the  scholars  of  the  city.  After  these  had  been  translated 
into  Arabic,  report  says  that  the  original  manuscripts  were 
destroyed.  The  story  is  typical  of  the  part  Baghdad  has 
always  played  as  a  middleman  of  cultures.  From  its  founda¬ 
tion  it  has  been  a  meeting  ground  for  the  Persian  and  the 
Arab.  The  connection  still  exists.  There  is  a  Persian  popu¬ 
lation  to-day  along  the  east  Arabian  littoral,  and  the  report 
from  Persia  must  touch  ‘Iraq,  but  the  present  chapter  treats 

[64] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


^Iraq  as  a  part  of  the  Arab  world,  and  in  connection  with  the 
survey  of  the  Arabian  peninsula. 

The  pure  Arab  is  not  a  bookish  person,  and  the  mingled 
peoples  of  ‘Iraq  have  forgotten  their  ancient  scholarship.  But 
Baghdad  is  astir  now  as  a  commercial  and  poltical  centre  and 
is  demanding  reading  matter.  Commerce  and  religious  inter¬ 
ests  make  her  a  great  focus  of  Moslem  life.  Here  is  a  centre 
for  a  strong  Christian  literary  policy,  as  the  report  would 
have  us  recognise.  The  small  mission  staffs,  amid  populations 
whose  interests  were  not  dominantly  literary,  and  the  knowl¬ 
edge  that  Arabic  literature  was  being  produced  by  specialists 
in  other  fields,  have  hindered  production  in  this  area.  “Full 
use  is  made  of  all  Arabic  and  Persian  Christian  literature 
published  in  Egypt,  Syria  and  India.”  But  “many  of  the 
words  are  different,”  and  with  the  increase  of  readers,  need 
is  felt  for  additional  books  more  racy  of  the  Arabian  soil. 

LITERATURE  PRODUCED 

The  present  output  of  the  Missions  in  Arabia  is  confined 
to  two  books  of  questions  and  answers  on  the  Gospels  for 
school-children  and  simple  enquirers,  with  Speer’s  “Principles 
of  Jesus”  specially  adapted  for  Moslems.  In  preparation  are 
“continued  stories  of  the  Life  of  Christ  and  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  in  Moslem  Arabic  and  interspersed  with  sentence 
homilies  and  very  brief  explanations  of  phrases  strange  to  a 
Moslem.” 


LITERATURE  NEEDED 

When  we. turn  to  the  literary  ambitions  of  the  missionaries 
of  this  field  we  find  them  bold.  Using,  as  they  do,  all  the 
Arabic  literature  that  they  can  obtain  from  India,  Syria  and 
Egypt,  the  workers  in  Arabia  all  feel  that  many  important 
types  of  books  are  seriously  lacking,  and  that  others  need 
re-writing  for  Arabian  conditions. 

The  following  types  of  books  are  felt  to  be  a  special  need 
in  Arabia  to-day: 


[65] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Special  Apologetic:  (a)  Explanations  for  Moslems 
of  terms  used  in  the  Bible  and  other  Christian  books  which 
are  generally  found  objectionable;  and  (b)  books  to  meet 
the  many  '"waqf^  works  published  under  public  ecclesi¬ 
astical  funds  and  distributed  freely  to  controvert  the  Christian 
position.  The  replies  should  be  as  available  as  the  attacks, 
(c)  A  simple  presentation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
refuting  the  physical  idea  of  Islam,  (d)  Books  for  school 
pupils  examining,  correcting  and  enlarging  upon  the  teaching 
given  upon  Christ  and  Christians  in  Moslem  schools. 

Expository  Literature:  Very  simple  and  dealing  only 
with  the  primary  facts  of  Christianity,  and  centering  in 
Jesus  Christ  as  found  in  the  Gospel  story;  avoiding  as  far 
as  possible  the  old  Christian  nomenclature — as  if  He  himself 
came  again  among  men  with  an  appeal  unconnected  with 
centuries  of  strife  between  Christianity  and  Islam. 

Literature  for  Moslem  Sectaries:  Arabia  has  been 
the  home  of  very  many  sects.  There  rose  Wahhabiism 
with  Senussiism  in  its  womb.  “Our  Committee  will  rec¬ 
ognise  the  need  of  securing  missionaries  to  specialise  in 
the  study  of  special  sects  and  to  provide  Christian  literature 
to  meet  their  views.  One  Shi’ah  scholar  has  written  four  or 
five  volumes  dealing  with  the  peculiar  tenets  of  different  sects. 
Last  year  he  succeeded  in  winning  over  all  the  members  of 
the  Sheikhiya  sects  in  Kuwait,  numbering  50,000,  to  the 
Shi’i  communion.” 

Books  of  Prayers  and  Instruction  in  Praying  :  These 
are  in  great  demand. 

Biographies:  Especially  of  converted  Moslems.  The 
contagion  of  brave  example  is  great. 

Story  Books:  “Such  as  Janfiah  (Genevieve),  which 
George  Zaidan  says  is  the  most  affecting  book  he  ever  read, 
to  set  forth  the  principles  of  Christ  as  lived  out  in  individual 
lives.” 

Educative  Literature  :  Histories,  especially  the  people’s 
own  history,  and  stories  of  moral  and  intellectual  advance  in 
other  countries,  especially  in  Christian  countries. 

[66] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


VI.  Morocco,  Algeria  and  Tunisia 

This  great  Arabic  field  has  a  situation  all  its  own.  Here 
the  divisive  line  between  the  old  and  new  types  of  education 
is  even  clearer  than  elsewhere,  owing  to  the  French  policy 
of  assimilation.  The  student  of  the  Jami‘a  ez-Zaituna  at  Tunis 
or  the  Kairawiyyin  at  Fez  still  comes  forth  with  the  old 
Koranic  training  and  scholarship,  and  demands,  like  his 
brothers  in  the  Azhar  or  Damascus,  a  specialised  Christian 
scholarship.  On  the  other  hand  the  boy  from  the  government 
school  is  turned  out  not  with  a  modernised  Arabic  training 
but  with  a  French  training.  This  one  needs  scholarly  Arabic 
literature.  The  other  needs  literature  in  French,  or  if  in 
Arabic,  not  in  the  literary  language  he  has  never  learned, 
but  in  the  language  of  home  life.  The  report  tells  of  a 
stir  abroad.  The  French  schools  have  bred  up  a  spirit  of 
enquiry;  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  population  has 
crossed  the  Mediterranean;  and  the  cinema  has  opened  a  new 
world  to  many  and  created  a  desire  to  read  the  stories  shown 
on  the  screen.  All  this  results  in  an  increasing  number,  some 
of  Berber  and  some  of  Arab  origin,  who  master  an  alphabet 
and  can  read,  but  have  not  learned  a  literary  language.  Such 
semi-literates  demand  a  Christian  literature  in  the  language 
of  speech, — whether  in  North  African  Arabic  or  in  a  Berber 
tongue.  This  chapter  can  only  survey  the  output  and  the 
desiderata  in  the  Arabic  language.  French  and  Berber  litera¬ 
ture  must  be  considered  later. 

EXISTING  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

“Whatever  exists  in  classical  Arabic,  published  in  Egypt 
or  Beirut,”  says  the  report,  “is  available  for  all  who  can  utilise 
it.  The  controversial  type  has  been  furnished  by  the  Nile 
Mission  Press  of  Egypt  which  is  now  doing  more  in  the 
expository  line.  The  N.M.P.  has  answered  an  urgent  need 
by  its  publications.  It  would  be  still  more  useful  if  it  could 
enlarge  its  programme.  There  are  also  some  periodicals  (such 

[67] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


as  Orient  and  Occident  and  Beshair  es  Saldm)  that  should  be 
more  widely  used.” 

The  literature  produced  in  the  North  African  field  itself 
has  been  chiefly  a  tract  literature.  One  correspondent  quotes 
with  approval  the  advice  of  Sir  William  Muir  that  books  of 
any  size  are  less  likely  to  be  bought  by  Moslems  than  tracts, 
and  that  works  like  Mizdn-al-Haqq  should  be  printed  in  sec¬ 
tions  and  circulated  in  tract  form. 

Apologetic  Works:  Besides  the  translation  of  Cur 
Deus  Homo  (now  out  of  print),  thirteen  tracts  have  been 
published  in  literary  Arabic  by  various  authors.  Most  of 
these  are  now  out  of  print.  And  six  have  been  prepared  but 
not  yet  published.  This  unpublished  series  deals  with  difficult 
phrases  such  as  “Word  of  God,”  “Spirit  of  God,”  “Son  of 
God,”  “Gospel  or  Gospels.” 

Illustrated  Parables:  “The  great  opportunity,”  says 
Miss  Trotter  of  Algiers,  “seems  to  be  for  literature  on 
the  ground  of  the  universal  need  of  the  human  heart  for 
salvation,  irrespective  of  the  creed  in  which  the  individual 
was  born,  though  the  standpoint  of  that  creed  should  be 
recognised.”  This  is  the  characteristic  note  of  her  well-known 
series  of  story  parables  produced  in  North  African  colloquial 
Arabic  in  Algiers.^ 

Decorated  Scripture  :  This  field  has  initiated  a  unique 
type  of  work  in  the  use  of  eastern  illumination.  The  Ten 
Commandments,  special  Psalms,  books  of  texts  for  a  month, 
the  “I  am’s”  of  St.  John,  and  various  other  Scripture 
passages  have  been  produced  with  designs  from  Arabic  illumi¬ 
nations.  Where  these  are  in  black  ink  only,  they  have  been 
used  to  give  boys’  classes  the  joy  of  adding  colour  to  the 
patterns.  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  John  decorated  with 
coloured  illuminations  copied  from  Arabic  manuscripts  in  the 
British  Museum,  was  prepared  in  Algeria,  printed  in  Britain 
and  published  in  Cairo  by  the  Nile  Mission  Press  at  the 
expense  of  the  American  Christian  Literature  Society  for 
Moslems.  This  first  serious  effort  to  use  Arabic  art  in  Arabic 


‘Also  in  simple  classical  Arabic  by  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  Cairo. 

[68] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


Christian  literature  is  already  stimulating  similar  efforts 
elsewhere. 

Verse:  The  fascination  of  colloquial  verse  is  realised 
in  this  field.  Besides  two  colloquial  hymn  books,  Mr.  Percy 
Smith  has  prepared  the  story  of  the  Creation  and  Fall  and  the 
story  of  the  Life  of  Christ  in  this  medium. 

LITERATURE  DESIRED  ^ 

Apologetics:  The  following  lines  of  development  are 
suggested : 

a.  Historical  method:  “For  the  better-educated  the  best 
method  of  controversy  is  the  scientific  historical  method 
centring  round  the  fact  of  the  Death  of  Christ.  It  cannot  be 
without  weight  to  those  influenced  by  the  modern  spirit  of 
inquiry.  In  applying  scientific  historical  criticism  to  Islamic 
history  and  writings,  the  Christian  invites  the  same  method  of 
historical  criticism  to  be  applied  to  Christianity,  the  Person  of 
Christ  and  the  New  Testament.  The  Christian  is  not  afraid 
of  historical  enquiry,  but  it  is  fatal  to  the  halo  of  glory  that 
tradition  has  woven  round  the  head  of  Mohammed  and  the 
origins  of  Islam.  The  small  book  of  Sir  William  Muir  on 
Mohammed  and  Islam,  translated  into  French  and  Arabic  and 
completed  by  the  same  author’s  tract  on  The  Rise  and  Decline 
of  Islam  would  be  singularly  useful  for  dissipating  a  lot  of 
false  notions,  while  being  fair  to  Islam.  It  could  be  supple¬ 
mented  by  a  setting  forth  of  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  or  an  outline  of  His  life,  as  a  contrast.” 

b.  Tracts  to  meet  difficulties :  “In  both  literary  and 
North  African  Arabic  we  need  a  series  of  tracts  to  meet  the 
difficulties  that  a  sincere  Moslem  experiences  in  reading  the 
gospels,  e.g.  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Injil?  Why 
is  the  gospel  found  in  a  four-fold  form?  What  is  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  phrase  ‘Kingdom  of  God,’  ‘Kingdom  of  Heaven’? 
Since  Jesus  was  circumcised,  why  do  Christians  not  practice 

*It  must  be  remembered  under  this  heading  that  books  desired  in 
French  for  the  French-educated  classes  are  omitted  in  this  chapter, 
although  many  of  the  desiderata  here  mentioned  are  also  needed  in  French 
or  Kabyle  or  both. 

[69]. 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


circumcision?  Why  was  the  distinction  between  clean  and 
unclean  foods  abolished  in  Christianity? 

These  are  not  idle  questions  but  real  difficulties  constantly 
met  by  Moslems  in  reading  the  gospels.  They  furnish  good 
occasions  for  explaining  far-reaching  principles.’' 

c.  A  series  on  the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  on  sin, 
repentance,  faith,  the  law  of  God,  the  atonement,  pardon, 
regeneration,  intercession. 

d.  A  special  apologetic  for  mystics,  who  are  more  open  on 
the  spiritual  side  than  ordinary  Moslems. 

Bible  Histories:  We  need  in  North  African  Arabic 
a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  a  short  Life  of  Christ,  a  Life 
of  Paul  and  studies  in  the  lives  and  work  of  the  Apostles,  so 
as  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  founding  of  the  Christian  Church ; 
illustrated  Scripture  histories  also,  for  boys  and  girls. 

Biography  and  Church  History:  ‘Tn  North  African 
Arabic  we  need  more  biography,  and  especially  biographies  of 
converts  and  stories  of  their  work,  and  of  martyrs  and  perse¬ 
cutions,  as  well  as  general  mission  narratives  and  a  short 
Church  history.” 

Evangelistic  Tracts  and  Pictures:  *‘We  need  great 
numbers  in  North  African  Arabic,  besides  those  that  come 
from  Egypt  or  Syria.  Oriental  designs  on  first  page;  use 
of  story,  parable  and  proverb;  good  pictorial  illustrations. 
Also  pictures  for  use  in  work  like  village  visiting, — a  couple 
of  dozen  scenes  from  the  life  of  our  Lord  each  bearing 
a  Bible  verse  or  chorus  to  be  learned.  Also  short  and  pointed 
two-page  leaflets,  in  large  print,  in  colloquial  Arabic.” 

Teachers’  Books:  ‘Tn  North  African  Arabic  we  want 
manuals  of  instruction  in  class  work,  for  use  by  mission¬ 
aries  and  by  native  Sunday  school  teachers.  Scripture 
pictures  for  pupils  are  needed  with  sufficient  margin  to  allow 
of  printing  explanations  in  Arabic  and  French.” 

Books  on  Christian  Life:  “Especially  something 
on  the  Christian  ideal  of  the  family.  Stories  of  Chris¬ 
tian  married  life  in  its  loyalty  and  devotion.  Stories  of  the 
heroines  of  Christendom,  showing  how  Christ  has  released 
the  powers  of  womanhood.  Stories  from  real  life  showing 

[70] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


the  beauty  of  truthfulness,  purity,  sacrifice,  toil  for  others. 
Papers  on  the  moral  training  of  children.” 

General  Home  Reading:  “Short  works  on  interest¬ 
ing  phases  of  history,  short  booklets  on  popular  science 
and  travel,  and  an  abundance  of  healthy  fiction  for  youth, 
with  stories  of  adventure,  scout  lore  and  scout  law,  papers  on 
arts  and  crafts.” 

Christ’s  Message  for  Social  Life  :  “Simple  clear 
instructions,  on  Christian  lines,  in  household  hygiene,  social 
reforms,  temperance,  first  aid,  purity,  social  service,  not 
neglecting  to  point  out  the  evils  of  early  marriage,  divorce, 
witchcraft,  fortune-telling,  etc.” 

Verse:  “Popular  poetry  in  North  African  Arabic  exists 
as  sung  by  native  musicians.  It  consists  of  tales  from  the 
past,  erotic  or  satiric  verses  and  complaints.  Some  of  it 
is  of  merit.  We  need  to  get  Arab  Christians  with  this  gift  to 
be  employed  for  Christian  purposes.  Metrical  versions  may 
be  a  way  of  evangelising  the  ignorant  and  them  that  are  out 
of  the  way.  It  would  be  good  if  the  gospel  story  were  put 
into  form  that  could  be  chanted  or  sung  somewhat  in  the  line 
of  the  recitations  of  their  own  blind  singers.” 

Little  Children  :  Kindergarten  stories  in  big  type  with 
pictures. 


VII.  General  Conclusions- 

When  each  area  of  the  Moslem  world  has  voiced  its  need, 
the  impression  is  one  of  bewilderment.  Each  country  in  turn 
says  that  the  opportunity  is  “unparalleled.”  Each  country 
states  the  need,  not  of  a  dozen  or  two  dozen  books,  but  of  a 
literature  reaching  out  to  speak  for  Christ  to  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men.  Each  Arabic  land  asks  not  only  for  books 
to  meet  the  old  Islamic  arguments  and  the  old  Islamic  spirit 
still  abroad,  but  also  for  books  to  help  the  semi-western 
educated  types.  Each  country  asks  for  a  literature  for  women. 
Each  country  emphasises  the  need  for  Christian  story- 
literature.  Each  country  asks  for  a  literature  for  boys  and 

[71] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

girls.  It  is  clear  that  very  varied  minds  are  needed  for  the 
production  of  this  very  varied  literature.  Gifts  of  scholarship 
have  been  perhaps  the  first  requirement  of  the  literature  mis¬ 
sionary  in  the  Moslem  world.  They  are  still  needed,  but 
beside  them  gifts  of  imagination  are  now  called  to  service. 
‘‘We  need  combination  and  we  need  fresh  writing  powers  to 
be  called  into  play.”  {North  African  Report.) 

The  suggestions  made  for  such  combination, — for  the 
better  use  of  every  little  gift  of  originative  power  and  imagi¬ 
native  sympathy  in  the  small  missionary  force,  are  of  such 
importance  that  they  must  be  gathered  together  in  a  special 
chapter  on  authorship. 

Meanwhile,  we  note  several  conclusions  concerning  more 
than  one  field,  as  to  the  directions  to  be  taken  by  Arabic 
Christian  literature  in  the  Moslem  world.  It  is  probable  that 
none  of  these  have  received  much  stress  in  former  reports  on 
such  literature. 


LITURGICAL  LITERATURE 

The  literature  of  public  worship,  found  in  all  Arabic  fields, 
though  not  designed  for  Moslems,  may  have  great  indirect 
influence.  The  American  (United  Presbyterian)  Mission  in 
Egypt  has  brought  out  a  large  and  important  edition  of  an 
Arabic  Metrical  Psalter.  The  S.P.C.K.  London  has  published 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  for  Anglican  congregations  in 
the  Arabic  world.  The  Beirut  Press  has  published  the  Arabic 
Hymn-book  most  used  in  all  Arabic  lands,  the  last  edition 
being  prepared  with  the  help  of  a  committee  from  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  Palestine  and  Egypt.  Mr.  George  Ashkar 
of  the  Beirut  Press  has  collected  some  new  hymns  and  songs 
for  Sunday  school  use,  and  the  Rev.  Percy  Smith  has  made  a 
similar  collection  in  colloquial  Arabic,  for  Algerian  children. 

A  collection  of  Egyptian  Hymn  Tunes,  from  oriental 
sources  has  been  published  by  Canon  Gairdner  of  Cairo.  In 
this  direction,  Arabia  urges  further  effort,  and  the  Rev.  A.  H. 
Bilkert  writes :  “The  translations  of  some  of  the  grand  old 
hymns  of  the  Church  are  splendid.  But  it  seems  the  height 

[72] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


of  the  ridiculous  to  force  western  music  upon  an  oriental 
people.  The  Arabic  world  needs  someone  to  do  for  it,  what 
the  Rev.  H.  A.  Popley  has  done  for  Indian  music.  I  doubt 
if  there  is  much  if  any  edification  for  Moslem  listeners,  at 
present,  when  they  hear  hymns  sung  to  western  tunes.  An 
oriental  tune  is  music  to  them,  and  some  of  us  have  learned 
to  enjoy  it.  More  than  that  it  may  be  the  means  of  singing 
the  message  of  Christ  into  Moslem  hearts.  Let  us  think  twice 
before  we  add  to  the  present  stock  of  western  tunes  to  oriental 
hymns.” 

DIGLOT  LITERATURE 

Arabic  as  the  sacred  language  of  Islam  has  attractive  and 
convincing  power,  and  comes  with  religious  authority  in 
Moslem  lands,  where  it  is  not  the  mother-tongue.  Consid¬ 
erable  use  should  be  made  of  diglot  texts.  In  North  Africa, 
French  and  Arabic,  or  Italian  and  Arabic  reinforce  one 
another  in  this  way.  In  China,  Malaysia  and  the  Straits 
Settlements,  literature  with  the  vernacular  printed  alongside 
of  Arabic,  or  interlinear,  as  is  the  frequent  Moslem  practice, 
is  like  a  double-barrelled  gun.  The  Cairo  Moslem  press  prints 
such  diglots  of  A1  Ghazali  and  other  important  texts  for  Java¬ 
nese,  Madurese  and  Malay  readers.  Much  of  the  Moslem 
literature  of  China  is  diglot. 

LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEM  MYSTICS 

The  importance  of  a  Christian  literature  for  the  mystics 
of  Islam  in  Arabic,  as  in  other  great  Moslem  languages,  is 
only  beginning  to  be  realised.  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner 
writes :  “The  hold  which  mysticism  has  upon  Moslems  and 
the  reality  of  the  part  it  plays  in  their  religious  lives  cannot 
be  exaggerated.  If  mysticism  had  at  first  some  difficulty  in 
finding  its  way  into  the  Moslem  scheme,  no  such  difficulty 
existed  in  Christianity,  for  which  the  two  words,  in  Christo, 
enshrine  a  divine  mysticism  in  the  heart  of  religion  from  the 
very  outset,  and  which  was  unembarrassed  by  the  formal 
rigidities  of  Islam.  Do  not  these  facts  constitute  a  call  to 
the  Christian  Church  more  deeply  to  experience  all  that  lies 

[73] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


in  Christo,  and  further,  to  attempt  to  interpret  and  preach 
that  experience  to  Mohammedans?” 

Even  for  Moslems  outside  the  dervish  movements,  we  have 
in  this  direction  an  appeal  whose  force  has  not  yet  been 
realised.  The  doctor  in  charge  of  a  mission  hospital  in 
Arabia  reports  as  follows :  “The  effects  of  particular  Christian 
teachings  were  noted  in  dealing  with  in-patients.  The  teach¬ 
ing  which  seemed  to  meet  most  frequently  a  need  that  the 
Arab  felt,  the  one  truth  that  his  heart  seemed  to  thirst  for,  was 
the  teaching  of  mystical  union  between  Christ  and  the  believer 
as  taught  in  John  VI,  XV  and  other  passages.  It  was  a 
considerable  surprise  to  find  that  the  materialistic  Arab  is  so 
appealed  to  on  this  aspect  of  truth.” 

PICTURES 

It  is  clear  from  the  reports  that  although  orthodox  Islam, 
following  Moslem  tradition,  considers  pictures  forbidden, 
tradition  has  now  been  effectively  abrogated  by  the  cinema, 
by  illustrated  school-books  and  by  pictorial  advertising.  The 
reports  are  full  of  the  new  need  for  pictures : 

“Pictures  serve  well  in  village  visiting,  where  the  women 
can  hear  so  seldom  and  need  something  to  rivet  memory.” 
“The  next  focus  before  us  is  a  series  of  story  tracts  with  gay 
and  thrilling  covers.”  “We  want  illustrated  literature  for 
Sunday  Schools.”  “Kindergarten  stories  with  pictures.” 
“Picture  books  of  all  kinds  for  small  children  are  a  great 
want.  Illustrations  are  essential  in  children’s  literature.” 
“Colporteurs  say  that  books  with  illustrations  on  the  covers, 
especially  coloured  pictures,  sell  best.”  “It  is  especially  neces¬ 
sary  to  prepare  a  large  assortment  of  illustrated  books  for  the 
nearly  illiterate.” 


THE  ARABIC  COLLOQUIALS 

In  the  past,  much  has  been  said  and  written  for  and 
against  publishing  Christian  literature  in  colloquial  Arabic.® 

*  Articles  on  the  subject  appeared  in  The  Moslem  World,  Jan.,  1914, 
Oct.,  1917,  July,  1918,  Oct.,  1919. 

[74] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


It  is  not  the  business  of  this  report  to  continue  that  fruitful 
argument,  nor  the  many  other  arguments  among  native 
Arabists  as  to  the  style  (“high”  or  otherwise)  to  be  followed 
in  writing  the  classical  tongue. 

Recent  scholarship  has  placed  the  Arabic  colloquials  in  a 
new  position  of  interest  for  students  of  Semitic  languages  by 
establishing  their  antiquity  as  independent  forms.  Dr.  T.  W. 
Arnold  says: 

“It  has  only  recently  come  to  be  recognised  that  the 
various  dialects  are  not  debased  forms  of  classical  Arabic, 
but  have  lived  an  independent  life  of  their  own,  preserving 
often  (especially  in  their  morphology)  early  characteristics 
which  can  be  traced  back  beyond  the  time  when  reverence  for 
the  Koran  caused  the  dialect  in  which  it  was  written  to  become 
the  established  medium  of  literary  expression. 

“The  amazing  thing  is  that  these  many  forms  of  Arabic 
dialect  should  have  maintained  a  continuous  life,  side  by  side 
with  so  powerful  a  literary  tradition.” 

That  is  a  pronouncement  on  the  past,  but  neither  this 
report  nor  the  highest  scholarship  can  decide  what  is  the 
future  tendency  of  the  various  forms  of  Arabic.  No  one  at 
the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  would  have  prophesied  the 
present  development  of  Bengali  as  the  language  of  a  great 
literature.  So  to-day  we  cannot  tell  whether  a  just  pride  in 
a  vast  literature  and  a  religious  loyalty  to  the  Koranic  speech, 
whose  uniformity  is  one  of  the  consolidating  forces  of  Islam, 
will  draw  the  spoken  language  closer  to  the  present  classical 
form;  or  whether  national  life,  and  some  creative  impulse 
within  any  one  Arabic-speaking  people  will  override  loyalty 
to  the  religious  tongue,  and  produce  a  literature  in  one  of  the 
spoken  languages. 

The  forces  of  education  seem  working  in  opposite  direc¬ 
tions.  In  Egypt  education  is  on  the  side  of  the  classical 
language.  In  Algeria,  French  education,  by  producing  an 
educated  class  whose  only  Arabic  is  colloquial,  has  an  opposite 
tendency. 

We  cannot  prophesy  but  we  can  record  a  growing  sense 

[75] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


among  all  thoughtful  people  of  the  intolerable  handicap  of  the 
present  divorce  between  the  written  and  the  spoken  tongues. 

“The  two  forms  of  Arabic/’  says  the  Egyptian  report, 
“differ  so  greatly  that  separate  grammars  are  required  for 
each.”  Though  a  child  quickly  learns  to  read  the  Arabic 
script  he  only  slowly  learns  to  understand  the  classical  vo¬ 
cabulary  in  which  it  is  written,  and  an  immense  amount  of 
fluent  reading  goes  on  in  schools  that  is  not  understood,  while 
an  immense  amount  of  time  is  lost  in  the  teaching  of  general 
subjects,  by  the  necessity  of  explaining  classical  words. 
Hitherto  Christian,  like  Moslem  literature,  has  been  almost 
entirely  written  in  the  classical  language,  though  in  a  simple 
undecorated  form  of  it.  It  has  been  inevitably  so,  and  there 
is  much  cause  for  thankfulness  that  the  unity  of  the  Arabic 
literary  language,  which  lent  so  much  of  solidarity  to  Islam, 
also  prepared  a  mighty  and  wide-spread  constituency  for  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  other  Christian  works  in  classical  Arabic. 

No  survey  report  questions  that  the  bulk  of  Christian 
Arabic  literature  must  be  prepared,  as  it  always  has  been, 
in  a  simple  classical  Arabic.  Not  too  much  but  far  too  little 
has  been  done  in  that  direction.  A  book  in  the  literary 
language  can  circulate  among  all  Moslems  who  have  received 
an  Arabic  education.  No  substitute  is  proposed  or  can  be 
proposed  for  the  preparation  of  a  great  literature  in  this 
language. 

But  the  reports  suggest,  in  addition  to  this,  the  need  to 
branch  out  in  two  directions.  The  first  of  these  additional 
undertakings  is  urged  on  behalf  of  the  simple  and  unlearned, 
the  second  on  behalf  of  men  with  artistic  joy  in  higher  Arabic 
style. 

(i)  The  survey  reveals  that,  with  the  spread  of  literacy, 
a  new  class  of  readers  has  come  into  being,  hitherto  negligible 
as  a  constituency  for  literature.  These  are  people  who, 
through  the  spread  of  education,  have  had  enough  schooling 
to  teach  them  the  phonetic  values  of  the  Arabic  alphabet,  but 
who,  as  they  mouth  out  their  syllables,  fail  to  get  the  sense 
of  what  they  read  in  classical  Arabic,  because  ^hey  have  not 
gone  far  enough  to  learn  the  literary  vocabulary.  It  is  not 

[76] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  ARABIC 


possible  to  decide  whether  this  class  will  endure.  Possibly 
a  couple  of  decades  will  see  it  pass;  but  during  the  years  of 
advance  in  elementary  education  we  must  reckon  with  a  per¬ 
ceptible  class  in  Arabic  lands,  as  in  India,  of  these  semi¬ 
literates.  The  reports  say : 

“It  is  especially  necessary  to  prepare  a  large  assortment 
of  illustrated  works  for  the  nearly  illiterate.  There  is  a  great 
and  populous  borderland  between  literacy  and  illiteracy.  The 
colloquial  should  be  developed  cautiously  in  (a)  Bible  stories, 
(b)  simple  drama,  (c)  gospel  exhortations,  (d)  hymns  and 
scripture  narratives  in  verse  for  reciting  or  singing.’’ 
{Egyptian  Report.) 

“A  great  number  of  those  able  to  read  Arabic  a  little  have 
not  sufficient  knowledge  to  be  able  to  use  with  profit  the 
literary  language.  For  such  readers,  we  need  literature  in  a 
simpler  form  of  Arabic,  that  is,  in  the  best  form  of  spoken 
Arabic.  The  large  sale  of  portions  of  scripture  in  this  form 
of  Arabic,  in  Algeria  and  Morocco,  is  sufficient  proof  of  the 
suitability  of  this  type  of  literature  for  the  ordinary  reader 
who  cannot  be  said  to  be  literate  in  the  classical  tongue.” 
{Report  for  Morocco,  Tunisia  and  Algeria.) 

“Local  writers,  native  and  foreign,  are  required  to  write 
the  literature  in  the  local  vernacular,  which  differs  in  many 
points  from  Syrian  and  Egyptian  Arabic.  Translations  of 
Arabic  works  from  other  countries  into  the  local  dialects  are 
both  desirable  and  necessary.  Not  even  the  simplest  Nile 
Mission  Press  tracts  are  understood  by  our  women.” 
{Arabian  Report).  Among  such  Arabian  dialects  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  of  Hadramaut  which  is  also  the  language 
of  the  island  of  Sokotra,  once  wholly  Christian,  now  wholly 
Moslem.  There  is  no  missionary  work  and  no  Christian 
literature. 

The  Syrian  report  is  the  only  one  that  does  not  suggest  the 
need  of  a  very  simple  popular  literature,  reaching  out  even  to 
the  language  of  speech.  At  the  same  time,  the  Syrian  report 
remarks  that  “The  difference  between  the  common  colloquial 
and  literary  Arabic  of  even  a  simple  sort  is  so  great  as  greatly 

[77] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


to  lessen  the  effect  of  literature  when  read  aloud  to  illiterates 
by  a  neighbour  or  friend.” 

These  quotations  are  enough  to  show  that  there  is  a  class 
of  simpler  folk  who  cannot  read  the  gospels  through  the 
medium  of  our  ordinary  classical  literature,  but  who  are  now 
coming  within  reach  of  the  message  of  the  printed  page  as 
they  have  never  done  before,  provided  that  page  can  speak  a 
language  that  they  know. 

2.  In  the  other  direction,  those  who  take  joy  in  the  rich¬ 
ness  of  Arabic  style  often  find  Christian  literature,  with  its 
care  for  plainness  of  speech,  disappointingly  bald  in  manner. 

The  Egyptian  report  points  out  that  though  Egypt  is  a 
land  of  poetry,  we  have  not  developed  a  Christian  school  of 
Arabic  verse.  Syria’s  emphasis  is  still  stronger.  The  Syrian 
friends  consulted  in  drawing  up  the  report  complained  that 
Nile  Mission  Press  publications  were  not  acceptable  in  Syria 
“owing  to  their  too  bald  and  simple  style.”  Syrian  scholars 
would  have  Christian  classical  literature  made  more  literary 
in  the  Arabic  sense. 


SUMMARY 

When  we  attempt  to  summarise,  the  present  situation 
seems  as  follows : 

1.  There  is  as  much  need  as  ever  for  a  great  classical 
Arabic  Christian  literature  in  the  simplest  possible  literary 
style.  There  is  no  suggestion  whatever  that  this  might  be 
superseded  or  made  unnecessary  by  othei  developments.  It 
was  and  is  the  first  and  greatest  work; 

2.  There  is  an  additional  need  that  for  the  present  in 
each  Arabic  country  we  shall  prepare  some  books  with  the 
homeliest  spoken  words  and  grammatical  forms  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  barely-literate ; 

3.  It  is  very  desirable  that  as  we  increase  our  product  we 
shall  also  prepare  some  of  our  books  to  appeal  to  lovers  of 
classical  verse  and  of  a  higher  Arabic  style.  This  must  of 
course  be  subsidiary  to  a  plain  preaching  of  the  gospel  in 
plain  words  for  plain  readers,  but  it  is  involved  in  the  Chris- 
tianisation  of  Arabic  art  and  thought. 

[78] 


Chapter  IV 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  TURANIAN 
AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


Literature  itself  will  enter  upon  a  new  career  of 
beauty  and  power  as  the  fructifying  minds  of  great 
races  come  into  active  possession  of  the  riches  of 
modern  knowledge. — James  S.  Dennis,  in  “Chris¬ 
tian  Missions  and  Social  Progress,”  Vol.  Ill,  p.  213. 

In  Persian  mediaeval  epic  a  word  was  used  for  those 
frontier-defying  steppes  of  Central  Asia  that  cross  the  con¬ 
tinent  unchecked,  until  they  break  at  last  against  the  great  wall 
of  China — it  was  the  word  Turan. 

From  those  steppes,  throughout  the  middle  ages,  poured 
forth  wave  after  wave  of  barbarous  humanity,  swamping 
Baghdad  and  surging  on;  breaking  again  and  again  on  the 
walls  of  Constantinople;  swamping  that  too  and  surging  on; 
and  only  held  at  last  before  the  gates  of  Vienna.  The  greatest 
missionary  achievement  of  Islam  was  not  her  early  conversion 
of  conquered  races,  but  rather  the  conquest  of  her  conquerors, 
when  she  drew  these  barbarians  to  the  faith  in  spite  of  odds 
against  her.  In  our  later  days,  after  twenty  generations  of 
Islam,  Turks  under  the  spell  of  nationalism  have  quite  de¬ 
liberately  looked  back  to  the  pit  whence  they  were  digged,^ 

^  Mr.  C.  T.  Riggs  of  Constantinople,  on  the  authority  of  The  Near 
East,  contributed  the  following  to  The  Moslem  World,  January,  1919:  “A 
little  over  two  years  ago,  a  prayer  specially  drawn  up  by  Enver  Pasha,  the 
Turkish  Minister  of  War,  was  ordered  to  be  recited  every  night  by  each 
soldier  in  the  Turkish  army.  This  remarkable  document  contains  no  refer¬ 
ence  whatever  to  Islam,  and  is  a  deliberate  attempt  to  turn  back  the  hands 
of  the  clock  to  pre-Moslem  times.  The  translation  follows :  “Almighty 
God!  Grant  the  Turks  wealth,  and  unite  all  the  Brethren  in  the  benevo¬ 
lence  of  the  Sultan.  That  thy  power  may  be  glorified,  grant  us  the  favour 
of  the  White  Wolf.  Thou,  young  Turan,  Thou  beloved  Fatherland,  we 
beseech  thee  to  show  us  the  path.  Our  great  ancestor  Abhouz  calls  us. 

[79] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


have  called  the  word  ‘‘Turan”  to  their  service  and  taught  the 
world  to  know  the  phrase  “Pan-Turanian”;  by  which  they 
announce  their  kinship  with  the  dwellers  on  the  desiccated 
steppes.  Students  of  language  too,  needing  a  name  for  those 
agglutinative  languages  akin  to  Turkish,  have  used  the  word 
“Turanian”  as  a  label  for  tongues  found  from  Finland  to  the 
Chinese  border. 

Regarded  territorially,  this  enormous  habitat  of  the  central 
Asian  plains  is  the  greatest  “unoccupied  mission  field”  of  the 
world.  Shut  away  from  us  behind  a  screen  of  teeming  and 
fascinating  lands,  the  Moslems  of  central  Asia  on  their  vast 
and  thinly  populated  plains  have  not  called  out  the  service  of 
Christendom;  and  at  the  point  where  the  Turanian  peoples 
reached  the  sea,  where  indeed  Islam  drew  closest  to  Western 
Christendom,  and  the  Moslems  of  Turkey  were  our  neigh¬ 
bours,  approach  was  baffled  not  only  by  religious  intolerance 
but  by  the  traditional  antagonism  of  old  enemies  on  the  field. 

Regarded  linguistically  too,  this  great  block  of  the  world’s 
surface  contains  a  group  of  kindred  tongues  which  have  not 
yet  called  out  much  thought  or  care  from  Christendom.  This 
constitutes  part  of  the  missionary  task  of  Russian  Chris¬ 
tianity,^  and  in  the  past  the  Russian  Church  has  built  up  the 
beginnings  of  an  educational  Christian  literature  for  the 
Moslem  subjects  of  Russia.  Now  the  whole  structure  of  offi¬ 
cial  effort  by  the  Russian  Church  is  temporarily  smashed,  and 
western  missionary  effort  in  the  Turkish  lands  is  only  carried 
on  with  the  utmost  precariousness  of  tenure,  all  that  we  can  do 
is  to  survey  the  chief  Moslem  groups  and  languages,  record 
what  beginnings  of  Christian  literature  have  been  made  for 

Almighty  God,  shed  upon  the  Turks  the  blaze  of  thy  light,  that  the  path 
of  Turan  may  be  plain  and  dwellings  be  illuminated  in  every  place  and 
corner  with  a  rosy  glow.” 

The  White  Wolf  was  the  Turkish  god  of  war  while  they  were  still  a 
Tatar  tribe  east  of  the  Caspian. 

*  Mr.  Arnold  Toynbee,  speaking  to  the  Central  Asian  Society  in  1918, 
gave  the  number  of  Moslems  under  Russian  rule  as  19,000,000.  No  fewer 
than  16,000,000  of  these  Moslems,  he  said,  were  Turkish  speaking.  The 
present  survey,  1922,  gives  the  number  of  Russian  Moslems  at  13,907,000, 
a  considerably  different  estimate,  but  still  leaving  to  Russian  Christians  a 
sufficiently  great  home  missionary  problem,  should  they  again  find  freedom 
for  their  activities. 

[80] 


[8i] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


them  in  the  past,  and  seek  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
to  how  and  where  this  or  any  other  service  for  them  may  be 
continued. 

The  chief  language  groups  of  Moslems  in  this  great 
habitat  (excluding  distinctively  Christian  languages  like 
Armenian  and  Modern  Syriac)  are  as  follows  :  ® 

Osmanli  Turkish,  Azerbaijani  Turkish,  Sart  Turkish, 
Tatar  Kirghiz  and  Qazaq. 

Besides  these  main  groups,  there  are  of  course  lesser  ones, 
such  as  the  half  million  who  speak  Circassian  in  Russia  and 
the  northern  provinces  of  Anatolia;  or  half  a  million  between 
the  Caspian  and  the  Oxus  whose  tongue  is  Turkoman ;  or  again 
the  Tadjik  of  Bokhara  for  whom  not  so  much  as  a  Scripture 
portion  has  yet  been  printed  in  their  own  tongue.  Innumer¬ 
able  slight  differences  of  dialect  also  persist  in  a  region  where 
life  is  yet  largely  tribal. 

One  of  the  most  baffling  difficulties  for  the  literature  mis¬ 
sionary  to  these  lands  lies  in  the  distribution  of  the  languages 
in  patterns  of  mosaic  intricacy  over  vast,  thinly  populated 
areas.  The  welter  of  race  and  language  in  Constantinople  or 
in  the  Caucasus  is  well  known;  but  it  does  not  cease  there. 
Miss  Jenny  de  Mayer,  a  pioneer  worker  among  the  Moslems 
of  Central  Asia,  tells  us  that  in  Russian  Turkestan  she  used 
Scriptures  in  ten  different  languages  to  reach  Moslems,  while 
if  she  were  to  reach  the  entire  population,  she  had  need  in 
addition  of  three  or  four  Indian  languages,  six  or  eight 
European,  and  three  in  Hebrew  character  for  Jews.  The 
problem  of  distribution  will  be  no  easy  one ;  but  at  present  in 
most  of  the  languages  used  by  Moslems  the  earlier  question 
of  production  is  hardly  yet  tackled. 


I.  Osmanli  T urkish 

This  is  the  language  of  some  8,000,000  Moslems  in 
Anatolia  and  the  Balkans.  Stamboul  has  its  own  prestige  in 

•Kurdish,  spoken  by  1,250,000  people  in  Turkish  lands,  is  reported  on 
in  Chapter  V,  Literature  for  Persian  Moslems. 

[82] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


the  religious  press  of  Islam,  and  for  about  three  quarters  of  a 
century  it  has  also  been  busy  with  a  modern  literature,  largely 
of  journalism  and  translation  or  patent  imitation  of  Western 
models.  Since  the  proclamation  of  the  Constitution  in  1908 
this  activity  has  been  much  enhanced,  for  then  a  jealous  and 
unintelligent  press  control  was  lifted,  of  the  type  which  had 
forbidden  the  entrance  of  Shakespeare’s  Hamlet  into  the 
country  on  the  ground  that  it  spoke  of  killing  a  king.  By 
1914  there  were  twelve  Turkish  dailies  in  Constantinople,  one 
of  which  (the  Sabah)  had  a  circulation  of  20,000;  there  were 
perhaps  fifty  more  journals  in  the  provinces.  The  thirty 
Turkish  periodicals  also  published  in  the  capital  ranged  from 
religious  magazines  to  caricature,  with  two  illustrated  women’s 
papers  edited  by  women.  Although  not  much  new  book 
literature  has  appeared  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  jour¬ 
nalistic  activity  still  continues;  and  the  fact  of  its  use  for 
political  propaganda  of  all  kinds  shows  that  reading  has  an 
effective  place  in  modern  Turkish  life. 

The  story  of  Christian  literature  production,  other  than 
Bible  translation,  is  soon  told.  It  began  with  the  close  of  the 
Crimean  war,  when  two  books  of  Dr.  Pfander  and  one  each 
by  Dr.  Koelle  and  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Weakley  were  published  by 
the  short  lived  Anglican  mission  in  Constantinople,  while  Dr. 
George  Herrick,  in  charge  of  the  American  Board’s  publica¬ 
tions,  began  at  the  same  time  to  issue  his  first  publications  in 
the  Turkish  language.  His  output  until  1885  was  cautious 
and  partly  along  educational  lines. 

He  says  that  a  first  primer  of  63  pages  became  the  model 
for  school  books  published  by  the  Turks  themselves. 

From  1885  to  1908  it  was  impossible  to  print  anything 
distinctively  Christian  in  Osmanli  Turkish,  though  a  physical 
geography  and  an  astronomy  were  allowed  to  pass  the  censor, 
and  a  little  book  on  Christian  Manliness,  “emasculated”  Dr. 
Herrick  tells  us,  “of  everything  distinctively  Christian,”  was 
printed  in  1898  over  the  protest  of  one  of  the  Censors  that 
“the  book  smells  of  Christianity  all  through.” 

With  the  Constitution  came  a  measure  of  freedom  to  print, 
and  Dr.  Herrick’s  last  work  in  1911  was  The  Unique  Person 

[83] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Relation  to  Mankind.  “Such  a  book,” 
he  says,  “could  not  have  been  issued  before  1908.” 

The  situation  to-day,  as  regards  either  the  production  or 
the  circulation  of  Christian  literature  for  Turkish  Moslems, 
is  dubious  in  the  extreme;  but  missionaries  still  hope  against 
hope  that  there  may  be  no  permanent  return  to  the  policy  of 
complete  muzzling  that  prevailed  in  the  past.  The  available 
literature  is  chiefly  of  small  tracts,  including  translations  of 
Mr.  Upson’s  Khutbas  and  Miss  Trotter’s  parables. 

“Some  of  the  tracts  we  have  and  all  of  the  Nile  Mission 
Press  Khutbas  may  prove  to  be  useful,  if  there  is  a  favourable 
change  in  the  political  situation,”  says  the  report.  Bunyan’s 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  the  first  part  of  which  was  translated  into 
Azerbaijani  Turkish  in  Bulgaria,  is  being  completed  and  pub¬ 
lished  in  Osmanli  Turkish  with  illustrations.  During  the 
brief  period  of  freedom  in  Smyrna  under  the  Greek  occupa¬ 
tion,  experiments  were  made  there  in  the  publication  of  a 
Christian  family  newspaper,  Yildiz  in  Turkish,  and  a  chil¬ 
dren’s  magazine  Demet,  both  of  which  were  well  received; 
while  the  vigorous  young  men’s  work  in  that  city  resulted  in 
the  addition  of  William  James’s  Habit  and  Shailer  Mathews 
on  Moral  Forces  that  mill  decide  the  Future. 

LITERATURE  NEEDED 

“As  practically  nothing  has  been  done  in  Turkish,”  says 
the  report,  “the  whole  field  of  literature  is  before  us.  Our  aim 
will  be  to  apply  Christianity  to  the  vital  problems  of  the 
present  day  in  Turkey  and  to  give  the  people  a  new  insight 
as  to  the  essence  and  the  right  solution  of  those  problems.” 
A  scheme  of  future  publications  has  been  prepared  by  Profes¬ 
sor  Devonian  for  the  Turkish  Moslems  of  to-day,  in  which  is 
worked  out  a  line  of  approach  ignoring  the  whole  historic 
controversy  of  the  past,  and  in  great  part  the  historic  de¬ 
velopment  and  the  historic  theology  of  the  Church,  and  plung¬ 
ing  directly  into  the  relation  of  the  Jesus  of  the  Gospels  to  the 
questions  in  the  newspapers  and  magazine  articles  of  to-day. 

Tracts  are  proposed  examining  the  nature  of  a  true  de- 

[84] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


mocracy,  and  pressing  home  the  impossibility  of  realising 
political  and  social  ideas  except  through  the  principles  and  the 
power  of  Christ. 

Another  proposed  series  deals  with  the  religious  ideas  of 
the  Old  Testament : 

“The  similarity  between  the  Jewish  and  the  Moslem  view 
of  the  following  topics  is  evident.  We  should  try  to  show  the 
development  of  these  ideas  in  the  Old  Testament  and  so  to 
give  a  new  standard  for  religion : 

The  idea  of  Revelation 

The  idea  of  Prophecy 

The  idea  of  Divine  Overruling  (Messianic  Hope) 

The  idea  of  Temple  and  Priesthood 

The  idea  of  Law 

The  idea  of  Sacrifice.” 

In  the  presentation  of  the  historic  Jesus  great  stress  is 
laid  in  these  proposals,  on  the  relation  and  attitude  which  the 
Jesus  revealed  in  the  Gospels  compels  to  questions  now  filling 
men’s  minds, — His  attitude  toward  national  aspirations  ;  His 
attitude  toward  war;  His  attitude  towards  aliens.  The  books 
suggested  for  reference  are  non-technical  presentations  (the 
phrase  does  not  necessarily  imply  ignorance  of  technique)  of 
Christian  philosophy  or  of  the  historic  Jesus,  for  modern 
readers.  If  the  mission  publishers  of  Turkey  make  this  con¬ 
tribution  of  modern  discipleship  to  the  youth  of  a  modern 
Moslem  world,  far  more  interested  in  very  modern  history  and 
economics  than  in  anything  that  happened  before  the  French 
Revolution,  they  may  serve  other  areas  where  a  similar  frame 
of  mind  prevails. 

Other  classes  of  Turkish  readers  needing  special  provision 
are : 

CHILDREN 

The  Turkish  report  says :  “The  classes  of  readers  to  be 
reached  are  in  order  of  importance  children,  women,  men.” 
It  proposes : 


[853 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

For  children: 

A  series  of  picture  books  with  good  stories. 

Series  of  cards  of  various  sizes  with  Scripture  verses. 

A  children’s  paper — monthly  at  first  perhaps. 

For  adolescents : 

A  series  of  biographical  sketches  including  such  lives  as 
Lincoln,  Livingstone,  Roosevelt,  Grenfell,  Garibaldi,  Joan  of 
Arc,  Augustine,  Francis  of  Assisi. 


SUFIS 

Constantinople  is  one  of  the  great  dervish  centres  of  the 
world,  and  the  publication  of  the  Sufi  Journal  in  Osmanli 
Turkish  shows  that  the  orders  had  common  interests  in  the 
Turkish  capital  which  justified  special  publishing  for  them  as 
a  constituency. 


THE  SHl‘lTES  OF  TURKEY 

Perhaps  twenty  per  cent  of  the  Moslem  population  of 
Anatolia  belongs  to  the  ‘Alevis,^  a  despised  people  who  reckon 
themselves  nearer  to  Christianity  than  to  the  Sunni  Islam  of 
their  conquerors.  They  are  deeply  ignorant,  but  show  traces 
of  a  remote  Christian  origin  which  gives  them  a  special  claim 
on  the  affectionate  care  of  the  Church,  and  also  endows  them 
with  a  much  wider  range  of  contact  with  Christian  teaching 
than  is  usual  among  Moslem  peoples.  The  same  Kizilhashis 
or  Shi‘ite  Turks  appear  again  in  Afghanistan  where  they  are 
reckoned  at  50,000.  There  they  are  more  progressive  and 
form  an  important  part  of  the  trading  community  of  Kabul. 
*‘The  Turkish  Shihtes,”  says  Miss  Jenny  de  Mayer,  *‘can 
follow  somewhat  more  easily  our  Christian  way  of  reasoning 
than  the  Sunnites.” 

*  See  article  “The  ‘Alevis”  by  the  Rev.  S.  V.  R.  Trowbridge.  The 
Moslem  World,  Vol.  IX,  No.  3. 

[86] 


MOSLEMS 

IN 

RUSSIA 

Scale  of  Milea 
0  lOO  200  soo 
I- 1  I  I  I  ...l.  I 
atWERAt  DRAfTIHC  CO.  INC..  0.T. 


40* 


60* 


1 —  Baku 

2 —  Daghestan 

3 —  Uralsk 

4 —  Elisavetpol 

5 —  Terek 

6 —  Kars 

7—  Ufa 

8 —  Erivan 


9 — Astrakhan 

10 —  Orenburg 

1 1 —  Kazan 

12 —  Tiflis 

13 —  Taurida 

14 —  Batoum 
I  s — Kutais 
16 — Samara 


17 —  Simbirsk 

1 8 —  Tchernomorsk 

19 —  Kuban 

20 —  Perm 

21 —  Stavropol 

22 —  Vyatka 

23 —  Penza 

24 —  Saratov 

25 —  Nijnii  Novgorod 


[87] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


II.  T atar 

Russia  before  the  war  had  more  than  five  million  Tatar 
subjects  in  the  Volga  Basin,  the  Crimea  (until  the  end  of  the 
i8th  century  a  purely  Tatar  khanate),  the  Caucasus  and 
Siberia,  not  to  mention  four  millions  of  Tatar  Noghai  in 
Turkestan.  The  Tatar  language  is  used,  too,  by  125,000 
Moslems  in  Roumania,  and  is  widely  understood  in  Central 
Asia  and  Northwestern  Persia.  The  Tatars  of  Russia  have 
been  the  most  active  and  progressive  Moslems  of  Central 
Asia,  and  converts  won  by  them  to  Islam  were  proud  to  take 
the  name  of  Tatar  along  with  their  new  faith.  Ismail  Bey 
Gasprinski,  who  died  in  1913,  was  among  the  world  leaders  of 
Islam,  but  he  was  only  the  representative  of  a  progressive 
people.  In  European  Russia,  Tatar  women  took  a  full  part 
in  university  life  and  in  the  teaching  profession. 

The  Moslem  press  at  Kazan  and  Orenburg  may  not  have 
been  so  productive  numerically  as  that  of  Cairo  (though  the 
Revue  du  Monde  Musulman  in  March  1914  stated  its  output 
for  one  year,  according  to  Russian  official  figures,  to  be  631 
new  Moslem  publications),  but  it  v/as  more  varied  and  more 
advanced  in  its  range  of  thought.  Among  the  periodicals 
were  The  Times,  The  Interpreter,  Religion  and  Life,  The 
Nation,  Rights  of  Life,  The  White  Way  (for  children).  The 
Teacher,  The  School,  Economics.  This  output  represented  a 
distinct  reaction  against  the  Russifying  policy  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  and  a  tendency  to  form  a  separate  national  and  religious 
group. 

The  Christian  response  to  all  this  activity  of  mind  and 
sentiment  was  begun  in  1857  by  the  late  Professor  Ilminski, 
who  gave  his  life  to  the  introduction  of  their  own  vernaculars 
into  the  schools  which  Moslem  children  attended.®  The  in¬ 
struction,  the  text-books  and  the  Gospel  were  all  to  be  in  the 
Moslem  child’s  own  tongue,  and  for  this  was  needed,  and 
indeed  grew  up,  a  network  of  seminaries  for  teacher-training 

"See  article  by  Madame  Bobrovnikoff.  The  Moslem  World,  Vol.  I, 
No.  I. 

[88] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


and  a  “Translations  Committee”  to  prepare  the  Christian 
literature. 

The  scheme  had  at  once  the  advantage  and  the  disadvan¬ 
tage  of  official  adoption.  Money  and  men  were  supplied, 
many  of  these  being  true  Christian  missionaries.  At  the  same 
time  the  whole  enterprise  took  on  something  of  the  character 
of  a  government  activity,  with  all  the  dangers  therein  implied 
for  a  spiritual  undertaking.  It  has  proved  impossible  under 
present  conditions  to  obtain  a  catalog  of  the  works  issued  by 
the  Translations  Committee  in  Kazan,  but  it  seems  that  by  the 
outbreak  of  the  Great  War  their  works  had  reached  about 
1000  of  various  kinds,  such  as  Scripture  translations.  Church 
Services,  books  of  prayers,  stories,  catechisms,  doctrine,  and 
direct  controversial  works.  On  the  latter  type.  Archbishop 
Antonius,  now  a  refugee  in  Serbia,  wrote  three  books,  A 
Conversation  of  a  Christian  with  a  Moslem  on  the  Mystery  of 
the  Holy  Trinity,  Why  Jesus  did  not  call  Himself  God,  The 
Moral  Idea  of  Christian  Dogmas.  Not  all  of  this  output  was 
in  Tatar — in  fact  the  Translations  Committee  had  begun  work 
in  ten  Turkish  languages  or  dialects — though  its  main  output 
was  in  this,  the  chief  Moslem  tongue  of  the  Russian  Empire. 
Even  in  the  dark  days  of  1918,  the  Holy  Sobor  of  the  Russian 
Church  voted  for  the  establishment  of  a  Supreme  Missionary 
Council,®  and  though  at  the  time  the  uppermost  thought  was 
probably  to  combat  the  spread  of  other  forms  of  Christian 
faith  and  of  free  thought  in  Russia,  lovers  of  the  Russian 
Church  hope  that  even  yet  she  may  some  day  be  allowed  to 
carry  the  message  of  Christ  to  Russian  Moslems  for  whom 
she  had  planned  and  begun  so  much. 

III.  Azerbaijani  Turki 

This  form  of  Turkish  has  never  reached  the  dignity  of 
a  strong  literary  language,  but  it  is  an  important  colloquial 
(with  local  variations)  in  the  Caucasus,  throughout  Azer- 

*  The  Constructive  Quarterly,  Dec.,  1918.  Hopes  for  the  Orthodox 
Church  of  Russia,  Leonid  Turkevich. 

[89] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


baijan  and  the  whole  of  the  north  of  Persia.  Persian  sub¬ 
jects  whose  mother  tongue  is  Turki  are  generally  literate, 
if  literate  at  all,  in  Persian;  but  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact,  to  be 
remembered  by  those  who  have  the  cause  of  Christ  to  forward, 
that  Persian  nationalists  found  it  worth  while  to  issue  several 
propaganda  newspapers  in  Turki,  as  having  more  appeal  in  the 
mother  tongue. 

The  chief  publication  centres  for  this  form  of  Turki  were 
at  Baku  and  Tiflis,  for  Azerbaijani  Turki  takes  the  leading 
place  among  the  languages  of  the  3,500,000  Moslems  of 
various  extraction  found  in  the  Caucasus.  At  Baku  the 
humorous  weekly  Mulla  Nasreddin  was  published,  as  well  as 
serious  religious  works,  such  as  a  commentary  on  the  Koran 
with  a  very  close  paraphrase  of  the  text  itself  into  Azerbaijani 
Turki.  At  Tiflis^  besides  newspapers,  a  woman’s  magazine 
was  issued  by  a  woman.  This  centre  has  its  own  importance 
as  one  through  which  pass  all  the  Moslem  peoples  of  Central 
Asia,  on  their  way  to  the  Mecca  pilgrimage. 

Christian  literature  in  this  important  vernacular  is  very 
scarce.  The  Pilgrim's  Progress  was  translated  and  published 
in  Bulgaria,  and  there  are  several  small  tracts  from  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Press  at  Urumia,  whose  main  output  is  in  Syriac  and 
for  Christians.  Dr.  Potter’s  Roots  and  Branches  has  been 
translated  from  Persian,  and  there  are  two  stories  of  the  Life 
of  Christ  for  Children  and  a  book  of  hymns.  Some  tracts 
published  by  Pastor  Avetaranian  at  Varna,  Bulgaria,  have 
also  proved  effective  in  Azerbaijan.  ‘‘The  people  show  eager¬ 
ness  to  read  any  new  literature  put  into  their  hands.  We  be¬ 
lieve  this  province  should  be  flooded  with  literature  positively 
Christian,  illustrated  by  stories,  but  non-controversial.  Whole¬ 
some  literature  for  young  people  is  greatly  needed.  There 
is  no  missionary  set  apart  for  literary  work  in  Azerbaijan.” 


IV.  Sart  Turki  or  Eastern  Turki 

In  Russian  Turkestan,  in  cities  of  ancient  fame  like 
Khiva,  Bokhara  and  Samarkhand,  Sart  is  the  most  important 

[90] 


CHMSTIAlSr  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Moslem  language,  especially  of  the  urban  centres,  and  is 
spoken  by  about  5,000,000  people.  As  the  railroad  crawls 
on  from  Krasnovodsk  on  the  Caspian,  past  Samarkhand, 
through  a  region  where  ruins  of  Christian  churches  are  still 
standing,^  and  onward  almost  to  the  Chinese  border,  Sart 
Turki  is  still  heard.  In  Chinese  Turkestan,  the  Sart  number 
million.  Here  then  is  an  important  Moslem  vernacular. 
Before  the  war,  Russian  official  figures  reckoned  Sart  as  the 
second  Moslem  language  of  the  empire  in  literary  productive¬ 
ness.  General  literature,  books  for  children  and  theatrical 
publications,  as  well  as  Moslem  religious  works  were  making 
their  appearance  in  this  language.  In  Chinese  Turkestan,  and 
even  beyond  the  borders  of  China  proper,  a  free  translation 
into  Sart  of  Qisas  id  Anbiya  is  popular;  but  speaking  gener¬ 
ally,  as  the  language  progresses  eastward  its  literary  produc¬ 
tiveness  dwindles.  The  Sarts  of  Chinese  Turkestan,  where  all 
newspapers  are  forbidden  by  the  State,  are  a  primitive  people. 
Unused  to  the  printing  press,  they  prefer  literature  mimeo¬ 
graphed  in  the  written  character,  and  consequently  circulated 
only  in  very  small  quantities.  Such  literature  is  described  as 
consisting  of  “Mohammedan  myths.”  Before  the  war  a  good 
deal  of  printed  literature  was  brought  from  Russia,  but  im- 
p.^rtation  now  has  ceased.  Chinese  Moslem  literature  comes 
in  from  the  east,  however,  and  books  and  tracts  of  the  Chinese 
Young  Men’s  Moslem  Association  issued  in  far-away 
Shanghai  circulate  in  Turkestan.  The  New  Testament  in 
Kashgar  Turki  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  J.  Avetaranian 
and  printed  at  Philippopolis,  Bulgaria,  in  1914.  In  addition 
to  this  work  tiny  beginnings  in  Sart  Christian  literature  have 
been  made  at  two  points  in  the  immense  area  over  which  this 
language  is  found. 

In  Russian  Turkestan,  Miss  Jenny  de  Mayer  has  made  a 
beginning  in  the  distribution  of  tracts  translated  under  her 
own  superintendence  and  printed  at  Beirut. 

In  Chinese  Turkestan,  the  Swedish  Mission  which  began 
by  having  three  tracts  printed  in  Constantinople,  set  up  first 

’  These  extend  as  far  north  as  Auli  Ata  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
beyond  Tashkend. 

[92] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


a  small  mimeograph  machine,  and  next  a  printing  press  in 
Kashgar.  This  is  the  only  printing  press  in  a  country  which, 
according  to  the  Edinburgh  Conference  Report  of  1910,  has 
“an  area  of  nearly  2,700,000  square  miles,  thirteen  times  the 
size  of  France,  and  over  twice  as  large  as  all  of  the  United 
States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.”  The  S..edish  Mission 
with  the  co-operation  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  at  Tihunfu 
in  translation  of  some  of  the  books  or  tracts,  has  now  issued 
Genesis  and  Samuel,  Job  and  Psalms;  books  which  were  re¬ 
ceived  doubtfully  at  first :  “Bismillah  yok,”  the  people  said, 
missing  the  ordinary  Moslem  phrase  of  introduction.  This 
press  has  also  produced  about  seventeen  tracts,  one  of  which. 
Miss  Trotter’s  parable  of  The  Nightingale,  became  popular 
in  the  bazaars  of  Turkestan.  A  Bible  History,  a  Life  of 
Abraham,  one  or  two  readers  and  three  school  books  on  geog¬ 
raphy,  biology  and  arithmetic  have  been  issued,  with  two  lan¬ 
guage  study  books,  a  hymnbook  and  a  tear-off  calendar  show¬ 
ing  Gregorian,  Greek  and  Moslem  dates.  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress  is  now  in  process  of  translation  by  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  and  special  translations  of  St.  Mark  (in  easy  Turki) 
and  the  Acts  made  by  that  mission  are  being  printed  in 
Shanghai.  These  are  the  beginnings  of  a  Christian  literature. 

In  1915,  plans  were  reported  for  a  bi-monthly  magazine 
with  simple  news  items  and  gospel  teaching.  Later  reports, 
however,  seem  to  indicate  that  this  proved  impossible,  for  the 
Chinese  Government,  embarrassed  by  the  control  of  a  province 
of  semi-nomads,  comparatively  new  in  the  Empire  ®  and  eight 
months  journey  from  Peking,  has  forbidden  the  circulation 
of  newspapers  in  its  distant  domain.  The  report  from  China 
says : 

“The  Rev.  G.  W.  Hunter,  who  is  working  in  the  province 
of  Sin  Kiang,  which  borders  on  Tibet,  Afghanistan  and 
Russia,  says  that  no  native  newspaper  is  allowed  to  be  printed 
in  the  province,  and  all  newspapers  in  the  native  language 
coming  in  from  other  provinces  are  confiscated  in  the  Post 
Office.  The  Governor  of  the  province  is  anti-Christian  and 


*  The  tribes  of  Chinese  Turkestan  submitted  tb  China  1757-60. 

[93] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


anti-progressive  and  has  given  orders  to  confiscate  literature 
issued  from  the  Kashgar  mission  press  when  it  passes  through 
the  post.  This  is  a  phase  that  we  have  passed  through  in 
China  proper  and  such  action  would  only  be  possible  in  an 
outlying  dependency  such  as  Chinese  Turkestan.  Doubtless 
it  will  pass  away  there  as  it  has  done  elsewhere.’’ 

Khirgiz  and  Qazaq.  The  Khirgiz  and  Qazaq  are 
nomads  of  such  closely  kindred  languages  that  each  can  read 
literature  in  the  other’s  tongue.  These  languages  are  not 
spoken  by  very  great  numbers,  but  they  are  found  over  an 
enormous  area.  The  Qazaq  roam  as  far  west  as  Orenburg  and 
the  Caspian  and  as  far  east  as  Chinese  Turkestan  where  they 
are  highlanders.  The  Khirgiz  are,  like  the  Qazaq,  nomads  who 
eat  horses  and  smoke  bhang.  They  were  formerly  found 
chie’fly  in  Russian  Asia,  but  since  the  Bolshevik  dominion  have 
migrated  in  considerable  numbers  into  the  mountains  round 
Kashgar. 

These  languages  though  without  any  great  literary  centre 
have  their  importance  in  the  fact  that  the  Khirgiz  and  the 
Qazaq  are  the  most  open-minded  of  all  the  Moslem  peoples 
of  Central  Asia.  They  are  rather  indifferent  neophytes  in 
the  world  of  Islam. 

Until  a  hundred  years  ago  the  Khirgiz  were  Lamaites. 
They  have  bowed  to  Islam,  but  their  roaming  way  of  living 
makes  it  easy  to  them  to  drop  irksome  regulations.  It  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  religious  authorities  sometimes  to  visit  their 
market-places  with  whips  to  chastise  unveiled  women. 

There  is  no  Christian  literature  available  for  these  people 
except  portions  of  the  Scriptures.  St.  Mark,  St.  Matthew  and 
Acts,  issued  in  Qazaq  by  the  China  Inland  Mission,  were  very 
well  received  in  the  tents  of  both  Qazaq  and  Khirgiz  who 
show  much  open  mindedness.  During  a  recent  journey  129  of 
these  booklets  were  readily  sold,  and  the  head  of  a  Qazaq 
tribe  is  said  to  be  enquiring  into  the  nature  of  Christianity. 
But  nothing  more  has  been  done.  The  only  mission  that 
undertook  special  work  among  these  nomads  was  that  of  the 
German  Mennonites  in  Russian  Turkestan,  where  all  organ¬ 
ised  Christian  mission  work  is  now  at  a  standstill.  Through 

[94] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


Chinese  Turkestan  it  seems  that  these  peoples  might  yet  be 
reached. 

These  then,  disregarding  many  lesser  languages  or  local 
dialects,  are  the  main  tongues  that  must  speak  for  Christ  if 
we  would  carry  His  messages  to  the  Moslem  World  of  Cen¬ 
tral  Asia. 


V.  Moslems  of  the  Balkans 

A  Christian  literature  in  the  Turkish  languages  must  not 
ignore  the  Moslem  populations  of  the  Balkan  countries,  for 
most  of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  the  Albanians  and  the 
Pomaks  of  Bulgaria,  Osmanli  Turkish  is  the  language  of 
home  and  of  religion,  though  the  language  of  the  state  in 
which  they  live  will  be  used  for  other  relationships  of  life. 
Everywhere  in  these  countries  the  Moslem  population  lags 
heavily  behind  the  Christian  in  literacy,  though  reaching  a 
high  standard  as  compared  with  wholly  Moslem  lands.  The 
following  table  gives  the  numbers  : 

Per  cent 


Country 

No.  of 
Moslems 

Per  cent, 
of  Pop. 

Language  & 

No.  Speaking 

Literate 

Moslems  Others 

Roumania 

210,000 

306 

Turkish 

Tatar 

95,000 

125,000 

20 

90 

Bulgaria 

643,000 

13.88 

Turkish 

Bulgarian 

443,000 

200,000 

30 

90 

Yugo-Slavia 

1,600,000 

24.15 

Turkish 

Serbian 

Albanian 

1,000,000 

500,000 

40,000 

15 

60 

Greece 

500,000 

12.00 

Turkish 

30 

90 

Albania 

900,000 

55.00 

Albanian 

20 

40 

In  these  lands  of  blood  and  tears,  the  Church  has  not  yet 
set  out  to  win  the  Moslem  minorities,  although,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Bulgarian  Pomaks,  she  has  sometimes  tried  to  force 
them  back  to  the  faith  from  which  they  were  forcibly  per¬ 
verted  500  years  ago.  The  whole  story  of  religion  in  the 
Balkan  lands  is  one  of  tragic  harshness.  The  Serbo-Croatian 

[95] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Moslems  of  Jugo-Slavia  whose  Begs  represent  the  old  Bosnian 
feudal  nobility,  threw  in  their  lot  with  Islam  because,  as 
Manichsean  heretics,  life  was  made  too  hard  for  them  by  the 
persecutions  of  Catholic  dynasts.  Where  the  Turks  held  sway 
in  the  past,  the  same  heavy  government  restrictions  as  in 
Turkey  proper  were  placed  on  any  effort  to  publish  literature 
for  these  Moslems  of  Europe.  To-day,  with  a  new  regime 
in  some  of  these  countries,  has  come  to  the  Church  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  beyond  any  she  has  known  for  500  years.  An  inter¬ 
esting  plea  was  made  by  the  Rev.  C.  T.  Erickson  for  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  Albania  as  the  key  to  the  Moslem  world.  He 
speaks  of  the  dominant,  masterful  character  of  the  Albanian 
Moslems  and  of  the  many  high  offices  held  by  them  through¬ 
out  Turkish  lands,  and  appeals  for  the  concentration  of  mis¬ 
sionary  effort  on  so  forceful  a  people.^ 

In  Greece,  Serbia  and  Roumania  no  Christian  literature 
exists  for  the  Moslem  population;  nor,  it  should  be  noted, 
have  these  a  distinctive  literature  of  their  own.  The  Moslems 
of  these  regions  all  look  to  Constantinople  for  books  and 
periodicals.  The  scheme  of  publishing  adopted  in  Osmanli 
Turkish  for  Turkish  Moslems  will  serve  the  Turkish-speaking 
Moslems  of  the  Balkan  lands,  if  satisfactory  co-operation  can 
be  arranged.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  a  translation  of  the 
Koran  into  Greek  has  recently  appeared. 

In  Bulgaria,  where  400,000  Moslems  speak  Turkish,  but 
200,000  Pomaks  only  know  Bulgarian,  one  Danish  mission¬ 
ary  is  at  work  among  the  Moslems.  He  has  already  issued 
a  few  tracts  and  hopes  to  enlarge  his  work  from  year  to  year. 
Many  of  his  wants  can  be  supplied  from  Constantinople,  where 
also  some  of  the  works  of  a  former  missionary  in  Bulgaria 
have  been  printed.  This  was  the  late  Rev.  Johannes  Aveta- 
ranian,  himself  a  converted  Turk,  who  struggled  for  many 
years  alone  in  this  work.  He  made  much  acquaintance  among 
the  Turkish  officers  held  as  prisoners  of  war  in  Bulgaria  in 
1913  and  wrote: 

“The  Lord  helped  me  to  prepare  two  important  tracts  for 
them.  One  of  them  taught  that  there  is  no  salvation  without 
•  The  Moslem  World,  April,  1914. 

[96] 


I  CCNEBAt  DWAFTIMG  CO.  IWC.  W.Y. 


20“ 


24“ 


28* 


[97] 


TURANIAN  AND  BALKAN  MOSLEMS 


Christ,  and  without  Christianity  no  real  progress  for  the  Turk¬ 
ish  race.  The  other  is  the  translation  of  Gossner’s  Book  of 
the  Heart  with  ten  pictures.” 

He  it  was  also  who  translated  The  Pilgrim^ s  Progress 
into  Azerbaijani  Turki  and  wrote  The  Thirty -two  Witnesses 
and  a  translation  of  the  New  Testament  in  Kashgar  Turki. 
He  also  started  and  conducted  for  a  time  a  Turkish  Christian 
paper,  Gunesh  or  Khurshid.  Although  much  of  his  solitary 
effort  may  seem  fruitless,  his  view  that  Bulgaria  is  a  strategic 
point  from  which  to  work  for  Turkish-speaking  Moslems  may 
yet  prove  to  have  significance  in  these  days,  when  the  greater 
part  of  Turan  is  almost  as  much  shut  off  from  missionary 
effort  as  was  China,  when  Morrison  sat  down  upon  her  door¬ 
step  with  his  dictionary  and  his  unconquerable  faith  in  the 
triumph  of  Christ. 


[98] 


Chapter  V, 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  PERSIAN- 

READING  MOSLEMS 

Oh  Persians  of  the  Shiah  sect,  efither  you  believe 
or  you  do  not  believe.  But  those  who  do  believe,  let 
them  give  ear  and  hear  what  I  am  saying.  How 
unworthy  are  those  who  confess  that  Islam  is  'a 
religious  system  both  spiritual  and  worldly,  but  who 
forget  that  a  tree  must  be  known  by  its  fruits. 
While,  as  you  say,  this  religion  has  the  happiness  of 
this  world  to  offer  as  well  as  the  coming  world,  yet 
in  every  point  all  Moslems  over  the  world  are  low, 
poor,  unclean,  without  civilisation,  foolish,  ignorant 
and  in  general  they  ore  two  hundred  years  behind 
American  and  European  Christians  and  even  behind 
the  Zoroastrians. 

If  it  were  only  in  some  places  that  we  found 
Islam  in  this  condition  we  might  attribute  the  results 
to  some  other  reason  but  where  we  find  Islam  every¬ 
where  in  the  same  condition  we  can  see  no  other 
reason  but  Islam  itself. — The  newspaper  Asad, 
Tabriz,  January  i,  1922. 

About  eight  and  a  half  million  Moslems  in  Persia  speak 
the  Persian  language,  but  its  importance  is  not  to  be  judged 
by  the  numerical  strength  or  political  prestige  of  the  strug¬ 
gling  Persia  of  to-day.  This  language  of  the  poets,  once  the 
court  language  of  half  Asia,  has  an  influence  far  beyond  the 
Shah’s  forlorn  domains. 

“Because  of  the  large  Persian  population  of  the  east 
Arabian  littoral  we  should  co-operate  in  the  distribution  of  all 
Persian  Christian  literature,”  says  the  report  from  Arabia. 
“Written  Arabic  and  Persian  are  in  universal  use  amongst 

[99] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


mullahs  and  Moslem  travellers  from  Central  Asia,’^  says  the 
Chinese  report.  In  Szechuan,  Persian  is  taught  by  the  pupils 
of  a  famous  scholar,  named  Ho  Yiu  Liang  of  the  Kiang  Nan 
Mosque.  In  Malaysia,  says  the  report,  “The  general  literature 
produced  in  the  last  three  hundred  years,  contains  very  few 
original  works;  almost  everything  has  been  translated  from 
the  Arabic  or  Persian.” 

In  North  India  Persian  has  not  been  altogether  ousted 
by  the  newer  prestige  of  Urdu  as  a  Moslem  literary  tongue. 
In  Lucknow  Shi‘ah  literature  is  published  in  diglot  Persian 
and  Urdu.  The  well-known  Delhi  tetraglot  Koran  has  Per¬ 
sian  for  one  of  its  tongues.  Kashmir,  with  no  literature  of 
her  own,  reads  Persian  or  Urdu.  Beloochistan,  off  the  beaten 
track  and  somewhat  outside  the  fierce  currents  of  political 
thought  in  India,  looks  chiefly  to  Persia  for  her  literature, 
and  is  more  closely  connected  with  her  than  before  by  the 
military  railroad  pushed  up  to  the  Persian  frontier.  In  new 
Afghanistan  the  greater  part  of  the  new  literature  is  in  the 
Persian  tongue. 

This  immense  prestige  looks  back  to  mediaeval  days,  but 
Persia  is  not  without  a  modern  literature.  Her  first  printing 
press  was  set  up  at  the  instigation  of  ‘Abbas  Mirza  (whom 
Henry  Martyn  called  “the  wisest  of  the  princes”)  in  the 
year  i8i6  or  thereabouts.  She  has  thus  had  a  century  of 
printing  and  has  discovered  the  use  of  the  press  in  all  kinds 
of  political  propaganda.  She  is  still  the  land  of  poetry.  “Per¬ 
sians  as  a  rule  seem  satisfied  with  reading  their  poets,”  one 
missionary  says:  “The  expression  of  Persian  life  normally  is 
through  its  poetry,  and  there  is  arising  a  school  of  nationalist, 
patriotic,  anti-obscurantist  poets.  These  worship  the  poets  of 
nationality  (e.g.,  Firdousi,  whose  Shahnama,  an  immense 
volume,  is  handed  down  in  many  houses  from  father  to  son) 
as  against  the  poets  of  mysticism.  The  new  anti-mystical 
bias  has,  however,  not  yet  reached  the  peasant  population. 
The  argument  of  such  poetry  is  that  the  followers  of  all  re¬ 
ligions  are  fools  together,  all  that  is  worth  worshipping  is  the 
new  Persianism  (Iran).” 

Another  strain  in  modem  Persian  literature  comes  (by  a 

[lOO] 


PERSIAN-READING  MOSLEMS 


reversal  of  the  usual  order  of  transmission)  from  the  Turkish. 
A  number  of  Turkish  plays  written  under  French  influence 
have  been  translated  into  Persian.  These  are  not,  however, 
the  dramas  that  move  the  heart  of  Persia;  that  is  still  true 
to  the  Ta'da  plays  produced  in  the  sacred  month.  They  are 
one  of  the  welding  forces  of  the  Shi‘a  world. 

With  the  exception  of  a  translation  of  Robinson  Crusoe 
and  of  a  few  of  Dumas’  stories  and  JSsop's  Fables  there  is 
little  published  fiction  of  modern  days.  This  is  not  to  say 
that  the  land  is  storyless,  for  story-tellers  go  round  the  vil¬ 
lages  and  gather  the  people  round  them  for  tales,  often  vilely 
obscene. 


I.  Existent  Christian  Literature 

The  first  Christian  press  was  introduced  by  the  American 
Mission  at  Urumia  in  Azerbaijan  nearly  eighty  years  ago  and 
Robert  Bruce’s  translational  work  at  Julfa,  Isfahan,  dates 
from  1869.  These  two  sources,  the  American  Mission  in 
the  North  and  the  C.M.S.  in  the  South  have  through  many 
vicissitudes  produced  a  trickle  of  Persian  Christian  literature. 
They  are  still  at  the  stage  when  the  initiative  comes  from 
the  foreigner  and  the  small  Persian  church  has  not  yet  under¬ 
taken  responsibility  except  of  translation.  The  alumnae  of 
the  American  Girls’  School  at  Teheran  are,  however,  editing 
and  publishing  their  own  women’s  paper  ' Alam-i-N isvan. 
This  avoids  religious  questions  but  is  high  in  tone.  There  was 
an  unsuccessful  effort  on  the  part  of  the  mullahs  to  suppress 
another  women’s  paper,  Zaban-i-Zanan,  edited  by  a  Bahai 
lady  in  Isfahan.  The  paper  survived  the  mullahs  but  was 
suppressed  by  the  Teheran  government  for  being  strongly 
political  and  anti-British.  It  revived  again  in  1921. 

Special  Apologetic  :  The  only  religious  theme  upon 
which  Persian  Christian  literature  is  well  supplied  is  that  of  the 
older  Moslem  controversy.  Here  Dr.  Tisdall’s  pen  has  pro¬ 
duced  no  less  than  nine  original  works.  One  {The  Sources  of 
Islam)  has  been  translated  into  Arabic,  Urdu,  etc. 

[lOl] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Pfander’s  Mizanal-Haqq,  Tanq-al-Haydt  and  Miftdh-aU 
Asrar  were  printed  in  Persian,  in  India,  and  are  sometimes 
used  in  Persia  though  occasionally  suppressed  by  officials. 
Some  of  the  references  to  Islamic  personages  have  proved 
offensive,  and  although  these  works  are  much  sought  after 
by  Persians,  their  circulation  is  not  without  danger. 

Dr.  Potter’s  Roots  and  Branches  is  among  the  important 
contributions  in  Persia  to  this  field  of  literature,  to  which  the 
latest  addition  is  a  Persian  translation  of  Muir’s  Mohammed 
and  Islam. 

Tracts  :  There  are  a  certain  number  of  usable  tracts.  Dr. 
Tisdall  translated  a  few  by  A.  L.  O.  E.  Miss  Aidin  pre¬ 
pared  one  recently  on  The  New  Birth.  Bishop  Stileman  wrote 
one  on  the  story  of  a  Persian  Martyr,  Mr.  Nurollah  of  the 
London  Jews  Society  printed  sixteen  picture  leaflets.  The 
Athanasian  Creed  is  (in  tract  form)  spoken  of  appreciatively 
as  giving  an  account  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  which 
appeals  to  Persian  readers.  But  in  general  there  is  dissatis¬ 
faction  with  the  meagreness  of  the  tract  literature  so  far  pro¬ 
duced,  and  a  sense  that  it  is  not  very  keenly  read  and  perhaps 
does  not  make  quite  the  most  useful  type  of  appeal  to  the 
Persian  mind. 

Devotional:  The  only  other  type  of  good  literature  of 
which  there  is  a  moderate  supply  is  the  devotional.  Besides 
the  Anglican  Prayer  Book  there  is  James  McConkey’s  book 
on  Prayer  and  his  Threefold  Secret  of  the  Holy  Spirit ,  trans¬ 
lated  by  Dr.  Potter  of  the  American  Mission;  a  book  of  sim¬ 
ple  family  prayers  compiled  by  Dr.  Stuart  and  printed  at 
Isfahan,  and  a  small  manual  of  simple  prayers  for  women  and 
children  and  the  uneducated  generally,  compiled  by  the  late 
Miss  Mary  Bird. 

There  has  been  some  development  along  the  lines  of 
hymn  production  in  the  land  of  the  poets.  Gospel  Songs  by 
Kashi  Moshi  of  Urumia  are  very  popular;  the  tunes  being 
largely  native  are  of  great  appeal.  Christian  Spiritual  Songs 
(about  seventy-five  hymns  compiled  by  Dr.  Emmeline  Stuart 
from  various  Persian  and  English  writers)  is  the  hymn  book 
used  by  the  Anglican  Church,  while  Spiritual  Songs  with 
1 102] 


PERSIAN-READING  MOSLEMS 


about  145  hymns  by  various  American  missionaries  is  pub¬ 
lished  at  Teheran  for  the  use  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It 
contains  some  poetical  paraphrases  of  Scripture  passages.  The 
Persian  Christians  of  Teheran  have  a  hymnbook  committee 
which  has  gone  over  existing  hymn  books  and  revised  and 
selected  hymns  for  inclusion  in  a  new  book  to  have  also  a 
number  of  original  hymns.  The  hymn  literature  is  now  in  a 
state  of  transition  from  foreign  to  Persian  work,  and  is  stead¬ 
ily  improving. 

Biblical  Literature  is  almost  non-existent  but  a  Bible  Dic¬ 
tionary  has  just  been  completed  by  the  Rev.  James  Hawkes. 
There  are  simple  Bible  Histories  by  Dr.  Bruce,  and  an  Index 
of  the  History  of  Jesus,  by  J.  Davidson  Frame. 

Character  Building.  Nothing  has  been  prepared  especially 
for  Persian  Christians  along  these  lines. 

Literature  for  Children  is  practically  non-existent.  A 
child’s  catechism  translated  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Potter  has  proved 
popular  and  a  mujtahid  in  Resht  has  prepared  an  imitation  for 
use  with  Moslem  children.  The  only  story  outside  The  Pil¬ 
grim's  Progress  and  one  or  two  allegorical  tracts  is  a  transla¬ 
tion  of  Christie's  Old  Organ  in  Judseo-Persian. 


11.  Literature  Needed 

‘‘Christian  Books  are  needed  for  all  classes,  but  we  believe 
that  children  and  persons  of  meagre  education  are  the  most 
important.  They  form  fifty  per  cent  of  the  reading  popula¬ 
tion.  The  people  are  waking  up  to  the  value  of  an  education 
and  newspapers.  A  man  who  wants  to  learn  and  who  enjoys 
reading  has  not  enough  of  modern  literature  to  keep  him  satis¬ 
fied.  We  can  get  a  hearing  because  of  the  hunger  for  all 
literature.  Newspapers  bringing  information  of  outside  ideals 
and  life  will  be  eagerly  read.  We  should  have  a  Christian 
newspaper.  The  literature  in  Persian  should  start  with  win¬ 
ning  the  Moslem  and  should  take  him  through  to  a  full  knowl¬ 
edge  of  Christian  life  and  ideals.  All  literature  for  Chris¬ 
tians  should  be  planned  for  the  man  who  has  come  out  of 

[103] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Islam.  The  three  chief  purposes  of  Christian  literature  in 
Persia  will  be,  (a)  apologetic,  along  the  lines  of  the  Moslem 
controversy;  this  is  fairly  well  provided  for,  (b)  literature 
for  development  of  character;  this  is  an  immediate  necessity, 
(c)  dogmatic  training:  this  is  a  less  immediate  need. 

A  doctor  writes,  “We  have  no  Bible  commentary  in  Per¬ 
sia  worth  mentioning,  no  scientific  books  bearing  on  Scripture 
truth,  and  hardly  any  good  natural  history  or  nature  works. 
That  is  an  anomaly  when  one  considers  the  time  we  have  been 
in  the  country.” 


BOOKS  URGENTLY  NEEDED 

The  report  emphasizes  the  following  types : 

Stories:  Bible  Stories.  Stories  to  teach  moral  truth. 
True  stories  of  child  life. 

Under  this  heading  individual  missionaries  suggest  a  whole 
story  literature  like  the  work  of  A.L.O.E.  or  Mrs.  Ewing, 
or  R.T.S.  and  S.P.C.K.  stories,  or  tales  of  the  type  of  John 
Halifax  Gentleman  and  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 

“We  are  constantly  faced  with  the  problem  of  having 
nothing  beyond  the  Bible,  Hymn  Book,  Pil grim's  Progress  and 
tracts  to  put  into  the  hands  of  converts  or  boys  and  girls 
passing  through  our  schools.” 

Biography  :  This  line  is  emphasized  as  among  the  most 
important.  Individual  missionaries  suggest  lives  of  inventors, 
of  pioneer  missionaries  or  of  social  reformers. 

Bible  Studies  and  Helps  to  the  Devotional  Life: 
Suggestions  are  as  follows : 

Literature  to  create  a  desire  to  read  the  Scriptures  is 
needed.  A  small  commentary  and  concordance  is  sorely 
needed.  Oxford  Helps  would  be  very  useful.  Also  simple 
studies  on  single  books  of  the  New  Testament  and  on  subjects 
like  Prayer,  Baptism,  Holy  Communion.  Pierson’s  Many 
Infallible  Proofs  if  well  translated  ought  to  be  very  valuable. 
“Almost  any  simple  exposition  on  Christianity  applied  to 
life.  We  have  nothing  to  help  our  converts,  evangelists  or 
pastors  to  self -development  in  Christian  life.” 

[104] 


PERSIAN-READING  MOSLEMS 


Social  Questions:  ‘^Those  who  employ  and  encourage 
child  labour  and  young  motherhood  are  sometimes  well  off 
and  educated.  Really  attractive  books  with  illustrations  show¬ 
ing  young  children  at  work  and  ill  effects,  might  be  extremely 
helpful.  And  books  telling  of  the  happy  free  childhood  of 
Christian  lands  might  be  helpful  to  parents.  Such  subjects 
would  have  to  be  very  carefully  approached.  Good  works  are 
wanted  on  medicine,  surgery,  physiology,  chemistry,  farming, 
and  physics,  all  from  the  Christian  standpoint.  A  medical 
work  against  the  prevailing  opium  habit  should  be  produced.” 

SUGGESTION 

Dr.  Stanton  points  out  that  much  Christian  literature 
produced  in  Urdu  might  be  translated  into  Persian.  In  con¬ 
sidering  the  translatableness  of  works  in  other  languages  the 
question  at  once  arises  as  to  how  far  works  produced  for 
Sunnis  could  be  used  in  the  home  of  the  Shi‘ahs.  Missionary 
opinion  seems  to  be  that,  with  careful  elimination  of  obnoxious 
references  and  the  name  of  ‘Omar,  the  same  works  might  be 
used. 

THE  BAHAIS 

This  important  sect  of  whom  there  are  about  100,000  in 
the  country,  publishes  much  of  its  literature  outside  of  Persia. 
Their  magazine  The  Star  of  the  East  has  however  a  Persian 
edition.  Their  sacred  book  the  Beyan  ^  is  translated  into 
French.  An  American  Bahai  newspaper  and  the  presence 
of  American  Bahaism  in  Teheran  give  the  impression  in 
Persia  that  Bahaism  is  successful  abroad.  In  western 
Turkestan  there  are  numerous  Bahai  propagandists,  execrated 
by  Sunni  and  Shi’ah  alike.  At  Kum  a  Bible  Society  colpor¬ 
teur  reports,  “Was  beaten  thrice  as  the  people  took  me  for  a 
Bahai.”  Only  two  Christian  tracts  in  Persia  are  addressed  to 
the  Bahais,  'Abdul  Masih's  Loving  Letter  of  Advice  to  the 
Seekers  after  Truth,  written  by  Dr.  Tisdall  during  the  days 
of  their  persecution,  and  The  Return  of  His  Excellency, 

‘Le  Beyan  Persan,  Traduit  par  M.  Nicolas,  Paris,  Geuthner. 

[105] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  by  the  late  Dr.  Carless.  “Anti-Chris¬ 
tian  Bahai  literature  in  Persian  is  serious  enough  to  challenge 
us  to  furnish  an  adequate  supply  of  positive  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  for  the  newly  awakened  or  half-awakened  reading  public 
in  Persia.” 


111.  Language  Groups  other  than  Persian 

Besides  her  pure  Persian  population,  Persia  has  perhaps 
two  and  a  half  million  subjects  in  the  north  whose  language 
is  Azerbaijani  Turkish  (see  chapter  IV,  Literature  for  Tura¬ 
nian  Moslems).  She  also  has  some  200,000  Kashgais  who 
claim  descent  from  the  Moghuls  of  Delhi  but  speak  a  Turkish 
dialect;  their  women  for  the  most  part  not  understanding  Per¬ 
sian.  They  ask  for  missionaries,  as  do  also  the  Bakhtiaris  or 
nomad  Lars  who  present  another  language  variation,  this  time 
based  on  Persian  but  with  many  different  words  and  pro¬ 
nunciations.  Their  Islam  seems  only  skin  deep.  Another 
language  group  in  Persia  and  one  of  greater  importance  is 
found  in  Kurdistan. 


THE  KURDS 

The  Kurdish  language  from  an  old  Iranian  source  is  gen¬ 
erally  written  in  the  Arabic  alphabet.  Like  many  mountain 
tongues  it  has  strong  dialectic  changes,  but  Kurmanji,  the 
most  important  of  these  dialects,  is  spoken  by  about  two  mil¬ 
lion  people.  Kurdistan  is  a  great  tribal  domain  reaching 
from  Tiflis  in  the  north  to  the  Persian  Gulf  in  the  south.  The 
northern  Kurds  are  dark,  fierce  men  and  Sunnis.  The  south¬ 
ern  are  fairer,  finer  grained  and  Shi^ahs,  who  take  kindly  to 
Persian  or  Arabic  education.  The  fact  that  among  the  Kurds 
the  two  sects  intermarry  leads  to  a  certain  open-mindedness 
among  these  highlanders  who  have  never  been  really  subdued 
by  an  outside  power.  The  Kurds  have  no  written  literature 
but  a  great  store  of  oral  material  for  literature. 

“For  many  years  the  American  Congregational  mission¬ 
aries  from  their  stations  in  Turkey,  and  the  American  Pres- 
[106] 


PERSIAN-READING  MOSLEMS 


byterian  missionaries  from  their  stations  in  Persia  and  in 
connection  with  their  work  among  the  mountain  Nestor ians, 
have  been  related  to  the  Kurdish  problem,  and  some  ten  or 
fifteen  years  ago  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  of  America  and 
the  Hermannsburgers  of  Hanover  undertook  work  among  the 
Kurds  at  Soujbulak  in  Persia,  which  in  the  interests  of  comity 
was  relinquished  to  them  by  the  American  Presbyterian  Mis¬ 
sion.  Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  translate  the  New 
Testament  into  Kurdish  dialects.  One  translation,  by  a  Per¬ 
sian  convert  afterwards  martyred,  proved  too  Persian  to  be 
acceptable.  A  translation  of  St.  Luke  by  a  Kurd  into  the 
southern  dialect  was  lost  during  the  war,  when  the  translator 
was  crossing  a  river  in  flight  from  the  Russians.  The 
Lutheran  Mission  now  has  the  whole  New  Testament  in  the 
central  dialect.  Returning  after  the  war.  Pastor  O.  L.  Possum 
took  with  him,  in  Kurdish,  printed  from  plates  of  his  own 
writing,  a  Practical  Kurdish  Grammar,  a  Hymnary  with  lOO 
hymns,  Luther’s  smaller  Catechism,  the  Lutheran  Liturgy,  and 
a  number  of  tracts. 

The  late  Mr.  G.  1.  Knapp  of  Harpoot  suggested  that  for 
the  northern  Kurds  rhymed  literature  would  be  more  effective 
than  anything  else,  especially  a  rhymed  version  of  the  Psalms. 

AFGHANISTAN 

Afghanistan  is  divided  in  her  allegiance  between  the  Per¬ 
sian  and  Pushtu  languages,  but  her  new  awakening  favours 
Persian  as  the  more  progressive  and  literary  tongue. 

On  the  question  of  Persian  versus  Pushtu  in  Afghanistan 
the  martyred  missionary,  Isador  Loewenthal,  wrote  (1850 
at  Peshawar)  :  ^ 

^‘Inquiries  were  made  as  to  which  version  (of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures)  would  be  most  useful,  and  it  was  considered  that  the 
Persian  Scriptures  were  most  in  demand,  and  the  Pushtu  was 
very  little  read.  This  is  erroneous.  The  existence  of  an 
extensive  vernacular  literature,  consisting  not  only  of  original 
compositions,  but  also  of  numerous  translations  of  various 


^  See  23rd  Annual  Report,  Ludhiana  Mission,  page  46. 


[107] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


popular  Persian  and  Arabic  authors,  betoken  a  taste  for  read¬ 
ing  the  vernacular/^ 

In  an  article  on  the  new  press  of  Afghanistan  The  Times 
of  London  says: 

“Two  nationalist  journals,  the  Amdn-i-Afghan  of  Kabul 
and  the  Ittihdd-i-Mashriqi  of  Jalalabad  aim  at  reflecting  the 
national  enlightenment.  Both  journals  are  published  in  Per¬ 
sian  and  claim  to  be  unofficial,  though  the  inspiration  and 
control  of  the  Amir’s  government  are  obvious  as  is  the  Bolshe¬ 
vist  hand  behind  it.” 

Of  the  literature  springing  up  to  voice  the  new  aspirations 
The  Times  says,  “The  Moral  Reader  vein  is  very  engaging. 
The  commonest  sentiments  are  such  as.  “Be  firm  in  adopting 
good  habits  and  shunning  bad  ones.  If  in  your  youth  you 
do  good,  in  your  old  age  you  will  not  be  sorry  for  your 
misdeeds.” 

So  the  Press  has  entered  the  long  closed  kingdom,  Moslem 
to  a  man,  and  so  fanatically  orthodox  that  the  Hazaras  of 
Shi^ah  faith  are  steadily  persecuted,  while  Dr.  T.  L.  Pennell 
wrote  in  1912  of  the  stoning  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
Mullahs  of  Kabul  for  joining  the  Ahmadiya  sect. 

The  fact  that  the  new  awakening  is  turning  largely  to 
Persia  for  literature  gives  the  missionaries  in  Khorassan  a 
unique  opportunity  for  the  circulation  of  Persian  Christian 
books.  The  main  trade  routes  in  N.  E.  Persia  were  so 
improved  by  British  Indian  troops  during  the  war  period  as 
to  render  contacts  easier.  Automobiles  can  now  be  used. 
From  the  American  Mission  hospital  in  Meshed,  in  one  year, 
1791  copies  of  Scripture  were  sold  to  visiting  merchants  from 
Afghanistan,  who  took  them  to  sell  beyond  the  borders.  Dr. 
Robert  Speer  writes  as  follows  of  the  present  opportunity  in 
Meshed,  the  only  mission  station  in  a  district  as  large  as 
France : 

“One  of  the  most  appealing  groups  of  people  whom  we 
met  anywhere  was  the  Christian  Church  in  Meshed,  made  up 
wholly  of  converts  from  Islam,  gathered  in  the  most  sacred 
shrine-city  in  Persia,  and  on  the  very  borders  of  Afghanistan. 
Some  of  them  were  from  Afghanistan  and  Turkestan.  From 
[108] 


PERSIAN-READING  MOSLEMS 


that  one  station  the  gospel  was  going  out  in  every  direction, 
east  and  north  as  well  as  south  and  west.” 

SUMMARY 

The  Persian  language  with  all  its  immense  prestige  pre¬ 
sents  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  before  the  literature 
missionary. 

Except  in  controversial  works  the  beginnings  made  are 
very  small.  The  immense  difficulties  of  travel  in  Persia  are 
reflected  in  the  disconnected  character  of  the  work  done  so 
far.  Small  as  the  total  output  is,  the  missionaries  do  not  find 
it  all  ready  to  their  hand.  The  American  Press  at  Urumia 
(now  destroyed)  has  been  the  greatest  Christian  literature 
producer  in  Persia  but  its  work  has  been  largely  in  Syriac. 
The  Henry  Martyn  Press  at  Isfahan  (closed  since  the  war 
but  now  reopening)  comes  second.  Other  work  has  been 
printed  by  the  S.P.C.K.,  London,  and  the  Punjab  Religious 
Book  Society,  Lahore.  Yet  more  has  been  printed  indi¬ 
vidually  by  job  printers  in  Persian  cities  The  Punjab  Re¬ 
ligious  Book  and  Tract  Society,  Lahore,  is  in  position  to 
supply  such  literature,  provided  money  is  on  hand  for  the 
purpose. 

(1)  The  first  desideratum  seems  to  be  that  an  inter¬ 
mission  literature  committee  should  take  rank  as  an  official 
body  and  unify  the  work  to  the  extent  that  what  is  done  in 
one  station  shall  be  known  and  available  for  all. 

(2)  The  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in  the  north 
has  set  apart  workers  for  literature.  The  Church  Missionary 
Society  in  the  south  should  be  urged  to  staff  its  mission 
strongly  enough  to  allow  of  the  setting  apart  of  at  least  one 
man  or  woman  for  such  work. 

(3)  Persian  authorship  has  not  yet  been  enlisted,  it  would 
seem,  though  the  Persian  hymnbook  committee  is  making  its 
own  experiments.  During  the  years  While  Persian  author¬ 
ship  is  being  sought  out  in  the  Christian  church,  it  may  be 
possible,  as  Dr.  Stanton  suggests,  for  the  committee  to  arrange 
for  translations  from  Urdu  or  Arabic  Christian  books  or  from 

[109] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


the  basic  manuscripts  in  English  or  French  proposed  by  this 
survey.  (See  chapter  XL) 

(4)  In  spite  of  the  immense  difficulties  of  circulation 
there  seems  a  real  opportunity  for  a  Christian  newspaper  or 
magazine  in  Persia.  If  the  suggestion  of  a  central  press 
bureau  be  followed  up,  part  of  the  task  of  supplying  material 
for  such  a  paper  might  be  lifted  from  the  Persian  editors. 
(See  chapter  XIV.) 

(5)  The  question  of  circulation  is  absolutely  vital.  The 
Bible  Society  has  proved  colportage  thoroughly  possible  to 
men  who  will  take  a  drubbing.  Persia  has  as  yet  no  organisa¬ 
tion  for  circulating  Christian  literature  other  than  Bible  So¬ 
ciety  colportage. 

Dr.  Robert  Speer  throws  down  a  challenge.  ^‘Every¬ 
where,”  he  says,  in  reference  to  his  recent  Persian  journey, 
“there  was  a  call  for  suitable  Christian  literature.  We  urge 
that  some  of  the  missionaries  or  Persian  Christians  best 
adapted  for  such  service  should  give  some  of  their  time  to 
preparing  Christian  leaflets  which  could  be  used  to  meet  a 
demand  that  does  not  need  to  be  created  because  it  already 
exists.  Preachers  and  colporteurs  ought  to  go  out  in  this 
time  of  opportunity  and  unprecedented  friendliness  in  Persia, 
to  preach  Christ  everywhere.” 


[no] 


Chapter  VI 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  INDIAN 

MOSLEMS 

When  once  illiteracy  becomes  the  exception  in¬ 
stead  of  the  rule  how  marvellous  will  he  the  change! 

On  the  material  side  the  whole  making  of  the  ma¬ 
chinery  of  civilisation  will  be  greatly  facilitated. 

On  the  intellectual  side  the  peasant  will  pass  into  a 
world  of  new  interest.  .  .  .  If  you  create  a  reading 
public  it  is  but  reason  to  provide  it  with  something 
good  to  read.  Well-edited,  interesting  well-illus¬ 
trated  papers  to  circulate  through  each  of  the  great 
regions  of  the  country  would  be  only  a.  logical 
corollary  to  the  whole  theory  of  popular  education. 

— William  Archer,  in  '‘India  and  the  Future,” 

P-  293- 

That  most  readable  and  at  the  same  time  statesmanlike 
report  by  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Clayton,  called  “Christian  Literature 
in  India,”  gives  in  Ii6  pages  the  result  of  a  recent  survey 
covering  all  the  principal  languages  of  India.  This  report  of 
the  survey  was  followed  by  a  little  blue  pamphlet,  the  im¬ 
portance  of  which  must  on  no  account  be  estimated  by  its 
size,  prepared  by  fourteen  delegates  from  all  India  who  had 
travelled  thirty  thousand  miles  in  order  to  scrutinise  the  re¬ 
port,  and  to  draw  up  for  India  a  national  “Programme  of 
Advance.” 

The  programme  so  drawn  up  contains  in  its  thirty-six  pages 
“a  statement  of  the  minimum  needs”  of  Christian  literature 
in  India  and  Ceylon,  both  as  regards  men  and  women  set 
apart  for  literary  service,  and  as  regards  annual  money  grants 
for  publication  in  various  languages.  And  it  is  more  than 

[III] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


a  statement  of  need;  it  is  a  real  programme  for  action, 
endorsed  and  adopted  by  the  National  Missionary  Council 
for  India. 

Why  then  should  a  second  survey,  dealing  as  it  does  with 
the  whole  Moslem  world,  and  therefore  in  less  detail  with 
India,  venture  to  include  a  chapter  on  an  area  for  which  so 
much  expert  planning  has  been  done  ? 

The  answer  lies  in  the  position  of  the  Indian  Moslems,  and 
in  the  fact  that  the  programme  undertaken  is  the  barest  of  bare 
minimums.  India  has  more  Moslems  than  any  purely  Moslem 
land,  but  she  is  not  a  Moslem  country.  In  many  of  her 
language  groups  Moslems  form  a  minority  section.  They  use 
no  less  than  eighteen  of  the  principal  languages  and  dialects 
of  India  and  Ceylon.  But  all  experience  goes  to  show  that 
work  for  Moslems  is  a  specialised  work.  Where  one  man  is 
set  to  develop  Christian  literature  in  some  Indian  language, 
like  Gujerati  or  Burmese  (and  the  setting  apart  of  even  one 
man  is  generally  a  very  recent  step),  it  is  too  much  to  expect 
him  to  have  a  specialist’s  skill  in  preparing  literature  for  the 
Moslem  minority,  in  addition  to  caring  for  all  other  Christian 
literary  needs. 

If  India’s  68,000,000  Moslems  are  to  be  served,  the  *‘Pro- 
gramme  of  Advance”  must  be  supplemented  by  the  provision 
of  at  least  one  central  worker  who  can  co-ordinate  the  various 
efforts  made  for  Moslems,  facilitate  exchange  of  material 
between  different  language  areas,  and  promote  new  work  and 
thought  on  their  behalf.  The  present  survey,  looking  to  the 
needs  of  these  68,000,000,  finds  many  tasks  of  the  first 
urgency  called  for  on  their  behalf,  that  could  not  receive  their 
full  emphasis  in  the  report  of  a  survey  covering  the  whole 
multitudinous  life  of  India. 

The  chief  languages  to  be  used  in  literature  for  Moslems 
are  ranged  by  the  report  of  the  survey,  in  their  probable  order 
of  evangelistic  importance  as  follows : 

Urdu 

Mussulman!  Bengali 

Mussulman!  Punjabi  (i.e.,  in  Urdu  letters) 

English 

[112] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Sindhi 

Hindi 

Kashmiri 

Pushtu 

Beluchi 

Persian 

In  addition  to  these  are  Sinhalese,  Burmese,  Telugu, 
Malayalam,  Gujerati,  Kanarese,  Tamil,  Marathi,  all  with 
Moslem  minorities  to  serve.  The  Maidive  Islands  also,  with 
a  language  all  their  own,  have  a  wholly  Moslem  population  of 
70,000  for  whom  nothing  has  been  provided,  although  a 
Sinhalese  lady  has  attempted  to  reach  the  educated  classes  with 
Arabic  Christian  literature  from  Cairo. 

Probably  the  simplest  arrangement  of  this  chapter  will  be 
a  rapid  survey  of  the  existent  literature  for  Moslems  and  the 
outstanding  needs  in  the  different  languages  successively,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  short  summary  gathering  up  what  the  survey  has 
to  tell  of  needs  common  to  all  or  most  of  the  languages  con¬ 
cerned.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  content  of  a  litera¬ 
ture  prepared  by  missionaries  to  Moslems  will  vary  according 
to  the  extent  of  the  other  Christian  literature  provided  in  the 
language.  In  languages  where  the  missionary  to  Moslems  is 
the  only  Christian  producer,  he  is  at  present  responsible  for 
all  the  literature  needed,  whether  for  ignorant  or  hostile 
Moslems,  for  enquirers,  for  converts  or  for  Christian  homes. 
In  such  cases  his  output  will  tend  to  have  a  much  wider  scope 
than  in  languages  like  Chinese  or  Tamil,  where  a  general 
Christian  literature  is  coming  into  being  through  other  Chris¬ 
tian  work,  and  where  the  missionary  to  Moslems  can  devote 
himself  to  the  special  apologetics  needed  by  his  people. 


I.  U rdu 

Urdu  (or  Hindustani),  says  the  Indian  report,  ‘‘may  be 
considered  the  lingua  franca  of  the  Moslem  population.  There 
are  many  thousands  whose  mother-tongue  is  one  of  the  various 

[1 14]  - 


; 


'ii>*^ti-}i'.'M 


’•♦>5S>>-<<i> 


. 


liiiili!! 


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•••'t  .-i-'-"-  '.  ■■'•  .. 


I  :-  * 


splsfe 


<\«*>>S>>:;:- 


W0M 


Courtesy  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 

PASTOR,  POET  AND  SCHOLAR 

Rev.  I.  D.  Shahbaz,  D.D.,  who  died  in  1921,  was  a  leading  pastor  in  the 
Punjab.  He  translated  the  Psalter  in  Punjabi  and  Urdu  verse. 


■ ,  ■>  ^’1 
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V  -  V 


■'  y. 


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<^1 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


vernaculars  who  yet  are  able  to  use  Urdu.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  the  trading  classes  who  travel  about  India,  or  who 
come  in  contact  with  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Urdu  is  the  trade  language  of  India  for  the  Moslem,  as  it  is 
the  literary  language,  and  one  of  the  court  languages  of  the 
day.  This  prestige  is  the  growth  of  a  century.  In  the  days 
of  Carey  and  Henry  Martyn,  Persian  held  much  the  position 
that  Urdu  holds  to-day;  and  Urdu,  *the  camp  language’  of 
Moslem  invaders,  was  not  much  used  for  polite  scholarship 
or  court  etiquette.  In  the  recently  founded  Moslem  Osmanieh 
University  of  Hyderabad,  Deccan,  all  subjects  are  taught  in 
Urdu,  and  books  have  been  translated  from  English  for  use 
in  all  the  courses  up  to  the  honours  course  for  the  M.A. 
degree.  Urdu  must  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  modern  learned 
languages  of  Islam.  It  is  fairly  generally  true  that  a  Moslem 
whose  mother  tongue  is  Urdu  will  not  be  able  to  speak  any 
other  language,  while  a  literate  Moslem  of  another  vernacular 
will  know  more  or  less  Urdu.  It  is  the  language  of  the 
Moslems  of  the  United  provinces  and  of  most  of  the  Punjab, 
especially  in  the  cities.  Here  the  Urdu-speaking  population  is 
about  17,000,000,  and  to  these  must  be  added  Moslems 
throughout  the  whole  Indian  Empire,  with  the  possible  excep¬ 
tion  of  Eastern  Bengal,  for  whom  Urdu  is  a  frequent  second 
language.  The  missionary  to  Moslems  in  all  parts  of  India 
finds  frequent  opportunity  for  the  use  of  Urdu,  whether  in 
speech  or  literature.” 

Lahore  is  the  storm  centre  for  Urdu  literature,  a  city  at 
once  reflecting  and  influencing  the  sentiments  of  the  greatest 
Moslem  province  of  the  Empire.  Here  is  the  publication 
centre  of  what  was  for  long  the  premier  Moslem  religious 
book  society  of  India,  the  Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam,  whose 
tract  and  book  depot  has  connections  throughout  all  India. 
And  here  too  is  a  centre  of  Christian  publication.^  Other 
centres  of  Moslem  publishing  activitiy  in  the  Punjab  and 
United  Provinces  are  as  follows:  (those  marked  with  an 
asterisk  have  also  a  Christian  press  or  publishing  society) 

^The  Punjab  Religious  Book  Society  has  its  headquarters  in  Lahore 
and  there  is  a  branch  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge. 

[115] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

Qadian,  Amritsar,  Rawalpindi,  Bahavadir,  Ludhiana*, 
Aligarh,  Lucknow*,  Cawnpore,  Agra*,  Allahabad*,  Meerut, 
Saharmapur,  Bareilly,  Deoband,  Rampur,  Azamgarh,  Jaun- 
pore  Bijnor  and  Moradabad. 

EXISTENT  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

While  Urdu  has  a  rich  Christian  literature  as  compared 
with  most  of  the  languages  dealt  with  in  the  survey,  and  has 
commanded  the  service  of  names  like  Imad-ud-Din,  Weit- 
brecht,  Safdar  ‘Ali,  E.  M.  Wherry,  Ahmad  Shah  and  many 
others,  it  yet  presents  a  great  field  for  endeavour. 

Much  of  the  literature  already  produced  is  for  other  than 
Moslem  readers,  and  although  most  of  the  outstanding  lines 
of  literature  have  been  touched  upon,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
touch  has  often  been  of  the  very  slightest.  The  work  done 
is  noted  as  ‘‘poor”  or  “scanty”  or  “meagre”  under  such  heads 
as  commentaries  for  Moslems,  Bible  histories,  books  about 
missions,  Christian  ethics,  books  for  teachers,  books  on  eco¬ 
nomic  and  political  science  and  social  service  and  reform, 
biography,  history  and  books  for  home  reading,  such  as 
works  on  nature  and  popular  fiction  and  general  instructive 
reading. 

On  the  pictorial  side  the  literature  still  needs  development 
and  this  is  a  matter  of  some  moment  when  the  illiterate  or 
only  just  literate  multitudes  or  the  little  children  are  taken 
into  account. 

Along  four  lines  the  supply  is  described  as  “good,”  viz.. 
Lives  and  Studies  of  Christ,  Pastoral  Theology,  Church  His¬ 
tory,  Works  on  Prayer.  Yet  the  most  numerous  class  of 
these  has  only  25  titles,  some  of  them  representing  very  slight 
publications;  and  under  “Lives  of  Christ”  the  need  is  felt 
of  something  yet  simpler  than  any  so  far  produced,  while  the 
suggestion  is  made  that  in  re-printing  Miss  Marston’s  useful 
Life  of  Christ  in  Urdu,  it  should  be  brought  closer  to  the 
spirit  of  the  language  and  of  the  people  by  printing  a  gazal 
(hymn)  at  the  end  of  each  section  of  the  text. 

In  Church  History,  Urdu  has  done  what  other  languages 
[116] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


reporting  in  the  survey  have  failed  to  do.  It  has  put  Eastern 
Christians  into  possession  of  some  of  the  important  source- 
books  for  such  history,  by  the  translation  of  some  of  the 
earliest  Christian  literature :  Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp, 
Ignatius,  the  Didache,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  the  Shepherd 
of  Hennas,  the  fragments  of  Papias,  and  the  Epistle  to 
Diognetns  can  all  be  read  in  Urdu. 

In  apologetics  for  Moslems  the  works  available  are  de¬ 
scribed  as  “numerous  but  in  some  cases  faulty,”  “occasionally 
marred  by  language  calculated  to  alienate  the  Moslem  reader.” 
F.  W.  Western,  in  drawing  up  the  catalogue  of  Urdu  Chris¬ 
tian  literature,  remarks  on  the  need,  in  apologetics,  for  meeting 
the  new  claims  of  modern  Islam.  Both  branches  of  the 
Ahmadiya  movement,  as  well  as  many  Moslem  scholars  of 
rationalising  tendency  are  active  in  Urdu,  and  as  Dr.  E.  M. 
Wherry  pertinently  notes,  the  champions  of  Islam  are  now 
largely  to  be  found  in  the  heterodox  Ahmadiya  sect.  Whether 
or  no  this  sect  can  be  regarded  as  truly  Moslem,  it  certainly 
is  anti-Christian  and  constitutes  a  challenge  to  those  who 
would  see  Christ  vindicated. 

LITERATURE  NEEDED 

The  following  types  of  book  are  among  those  noted  as 
needs,  and  most  of  them  as  “urgent  needs,”  in  Urdu.  The 
bulk  of  these  desiderata  might  be  set  down  bodily  under  the 
other  languages  of  Indian  Moslems  also.  We  give  them  more 
fully  under  this,  the  premier  Moslem  tongue  of  India,  as  an 
example  of  what  is  desired  by  missionaries  who  meet  India’s 
Moslem  problem  where  it  is  acutest.  The  need  of  apologetics 
for  the  various  modernist  sects  has  already  been  referred  to. 

Commentaries  and  Bible  Histories:  (Lives  of  Christ 
have  already  been  referred  to.)  “The  very  serious  lack  of 
commentaries  ^  is  being  steadily  made  up  in  the  case  of 

^  The  reason  for  the  paucity  of  commentaries  in  Urdu  is  due  to  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  Urdu  version  of  the  Bible.  Old  commentaries  by 
Owen  on  Isaiah  and  the  Psalms  and  Scott’s  commentary  on  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  are  based  upon  a  version  now  quite  antiquated.  The  same  is  true  of 
concordances. — E.  M.  Wherry. 

[117] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


the  books  of  the  New  Testament  by  the  excellent  Indian 
Church  Commentary  Series/^  But  these  do  not  cater  for  the 
peculiar  needs  of  Moslem  readers.  “Commentaries,  especially 
of  the  Gospel,  should  be  prepared  especially  for  Moslems, 
keeping  in  mind  their  peculiar  difficulties.’^ 

“There  is  also  need  for  a  book  on  the  progress  of  teaching 
from  Moses  to  Jesus,  and  for  Lives  of  the  Old  Testament 
Prophets,  Studies  in  the  Teaching  of  the  Prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  Lives  of  the  Apostles.” 

Methods  of  Work  and  Instruction  Books:  The  fol¬ 
lowing  are  suggested :  Advice  for  ministers  on  how  to  deal 
with  enquirers,  with  young  converts.  Methods  of  evangelistic 
work  in  towns,  in  the  country.  Hints  and  suggestions  for 
village  preachers.  Hints  on  teaching  the  illiterate.  Books  for 
the  instruction  of  catechumens. 

The  Message  of  Christ  for  Society:  The  sufficiency 
of  Christianity  to  meet  India’s  need;  Christianity  and 
nationalism;  Domestic  Economy;  Lessons  from  the  Early 
Church  on  Social  Service;  Christian  Social  Service  to-day; 
tracts  on  practical  Christianity;  fellowship,  purity,  service,  etc. 

The  Growth  of  the  Church  :  The  story  of  missions 
and  the  growth  of  the  Church  in  early  and  recent  times;  an 
account  of  martyrs. 

Evangelistic  Tracts  and  Booklets  :  “Many  exist,  but 
good  ones  are  always  needed,  especially  non-controversial  but 
appealing  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men.”  Amongst  the 
suggestions  for  such  literature,  we  find  the  following : 

(a)  Tracts  in  Urdu  should  open  with  an  Arabic  quota¬ 
tion  from  the  Koran  and  conclude  with  a  ga^al  (hymn). 

(b)  The  claims  of  Christ  as  Saviour,  stated  in  simple 
and  forceful  sentences,  might  be  printed  on  the  inner  sides  of 
the  covers  of  the  half-anna  gospels  in  Persian-Urdu. 

(c)  Some  of  the  tracts  in  Arabic  for  women  and  chil¬ 
dren  written  by  Miss  1.  L.  Trotter,  and  more  of  the  Khutbas 
in  use  in  Egypt  might  be  translated. 

Explanation  of  Christian  Doctrines  for  Moslems: 
New  books  are  desired  on  God,  Man,  Sin,  Salvation,  Forgive- 
[ii8] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 

ness,  the  Power  of  the  Cross,  Repentance  and  other  great 
topics. 

Biographies:  “There  is  a  very  serious  gap  in  Indian 
Christian  biography.  Only  four  biographies  of  Indian  Chris- 
tians  are  available  in  Urdu.  A  list  of  names  of  great  Indian 
Christians  of  whom  biographies  might  be  written  need  hardly 
be  given.”  “For  women  and  children  too  we  need  a  series  of 
short  stories  of  noble  lives.” 

Stories:  “There  is  great  need  for  stories  of  healthy 
adventure  and  romance  for  young  people,  boys  and  girls.  We 
also  need  story  books  on  Indian  life,  which  might  be  written 
by  Indian  and  foreign  teachers  of  the  young  in  collaboration.” 

In  this  connection  we  should  mention  a  monthly  story 
magazine  for  boys  and  girls  of  India  which  has  been  started 
during  the  year  at  Bangalore,  with  the  attractive  title.  The 
Treasure  Chest,  Editor,  Miss  Ruth  E.  Robinson.  It  is  not 
a  Christian  propaganda  paper,  but  it  gives  the  best,  wholesome 
stories  and  articles  to  its  readers,  and  so  lives  up  to  the  high 
ethical  standards  of  Christian  journalism.  It  is  published  in 
English,  for  only  in  this  way  can  it  serve  the  whole  of  India, 
and  all  its  creeds  and  classes  with  its  limited  funds.  It  could 
undoubtedly  be  made  more  useful  if  it  were  printed  in  bi¬ 
lingual  editions,  as  for  instance  English-Urdu ;  which  would 
greatly  increase  the  possibility  of  its  circulation  among 
Moslems. 

Periodical  Literature:  “In  Lahore  one  Moslem  press 
issues  a  special  paper  for  children  and  another  for  women. 
Both  owe  their  existence  to  Christian  inspiration,  but  both 
were  started  by  a  Moslem  woman,  and  now  that  she  is 
dead  her  work  is  carried  on  by  her  daughter.  While  the 
material  is  prepared  chiefly  with  the  Moslem  child  or  woman 
in  mind,  yet  the  character  of  the  stories  for  the  children,  and 
articles  for  the  wife  and  the  home  are  of  such  a  high  tone 
that  many  mission  schools  for  girls  in  North  India  and  the 
Punjab  are  regular  subscribers!  Which  fact  shows  how  great 
is  the  need  for  good  Christian  papers  and  magazines  of  this 
character,  for  our  own  community  as  well  as  for  Moslems.’^ 

[1 19] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


SUGGESTIONS 

(a)  It  is  suggested  that  the  Persian-Urdu  weekly  Nur 
Afshan^  (The  Spreading  Light),  published  in  Ludhiana  for 
Christians,  should  cater  more  than  it  now  does  for  devout  and 
cultured  Moslem  readers. 

(b)  It  is  suggested  that  the  very  Valuable  Orient  and 
Occident,  published  at  Cairo  in  Arabic  and  English,  should 
also  be  published  in  Urdu  and  English. 

(c)  Women  and  older  girls  should  have  a  monthly  paper 
like  the  late  Urdu  publication,  The  Garden  of  the  Heart. 


II.  Bengali  and  Mussulmani  Bengali 

Bordering  on  the  hills  of  NepaUand  of  Assam,  in  North 
and  Eastern  Bengal,  the  dialect  of  Mussulmani  Bengali  is 
used  by  a  larger  block  of  population  than  is  any  other 
Moslem  language  of  India.  Urdu  has  greater  Moslem  pres¬ 
tige,  and  is  used  by  a  greater  total  number  of  people.  But 
Mussulmani  Bengali  is  the  speech  of  the  greatest  number  of 
Moslems  within  one  solid  block  of  territory.  Almost 
24,000,000,  or  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the 
province,  speak  this  Islamised  dialect  of  Bengali,  and  the 
numbers  using  it  are  on  the  increase.  It  is  a  language  of  the 
villages  rather  than  of  cities  and  of  literature,  and  it  has 
hitherto  been  left  behind  in  Christian  literature  production, 
although  Bengali  proper,  with  its  great  modern  literature,  has 
claimed  and  yet  claims  the  services  of  literature  missionaries. 

Rouse,  Goldsack,  Takle  and  others  have  worked,  or  work 
in  Bengali,  and  rightly  so,  for  it  is  one  of  the  languages  of 
Islamic  anti-Christian  apology.  The  leading  Bengali  Moslem 
paper  Al  Islam  is  a  monthly  for  men  of  education,  and  under- 


*  This  weekly  was  founded  fifty  years  ago  to  provide  a  medium  by 
which  the  constant  tide  of  antagonistic  statements  made  in  Moslem  papers 
could  be  refuted.  It  soon  became  the  medium  of  instruction  both  for  non- 
Christians  and  Christians.  It  has  carried  on  controversy  with  Moslems 
all  these  years.  It  is  just  now  concerned  with  the  Ahmadiya  publications, 
and  their  attack  on  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement. — E.  M.  W. 

[120] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


takes  the  defence  of  the  faith  against  Christianity:  its  first 
number  contained  an  article  entitled  Where  is  the  original 
Bible?  Muhammadi,  a  Bengali  weekly,  may  be  called  the 
Moslem  counterpart  of  the  missionary  magazines  of  Christen¬ 
dom.  It  gives  news  concerning  Moslem  missions  of  the 
Lahore  type  of  the  Ahmadiya  movement,  and  publishes 
diatribes  against  the  Qadian  branch  of  the  same  movement 
and  against  Christians  with  impartial  hostility.  Bengali  has 
also  a  leaflet  literature  against  Christianity  with  titles  such 
as  Was  Jesns  sinless?  and  The  destroyer  of  the  Trinity. 

There  is  also  a  popular  literature  of  the  Moslem  masses, 
‘‘written  in  Bengali  doggerel  and  printed  in  books  called 
Puthi.  These  may  be  seen  for  sale  in  nearly  every  village 
market  and  can  be  obtained  at  an  astonishingly  cheap  price. 
They  cover  such  subjects  as  The  Faith  of  Islam,  Rides  of 
Islam,  and  Instruction  in  Religion.  Guides  to  prayer  and 
ablution,  and  to  the  repetition  of  chapters  from  the  Koran 
are  numerous,  as  are  books  dealing  with  the  Devil,  Death, 
Resurrection  of  the  Dead.’'  (Rev.  J.  Takle.) 

EXISTENT  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

The  Christian  response  has  been  made  mainly  to  the  more 
controversial  Moslem  works,  and  in  the  form  of  tracts, 
although  many  urge  the  opportunity  before  a  Christian  review 
in  addition  to  tract  literature.  The  main  task  is  now  felt  to 
be  the  preparation  of  a  more  popular  literature  in  the  Mussul- 
mani  Bengali,  with  more  positive  and  less  controversial  teach¬ 
ing,  for  the  multitudes  of  the  simple  folk  whose  literature  is 
the  rhymed  puthi  sold  in  the  village  market. 

The  tract  circulation  in  Bengali  has  been  considerable  as 
compared  with  many  countries.  Seventeen  leaflets  published 
since  1900,  by  Mr.  Goldsack  and  others,  have  run  through 
editions  varying  from  20,000  to  90,000  and  are  now  out  of 
print,  while  many  others  are  now  in  circulation.  Careful  note 
has  been  made  of  those  leaflets  that  need  revision  owing  to 
their  too  polemical  approach.  It  is  doubted  whether  titles  such 
as  Jesus  or  Mohammed?  should  again  be  used,  since  they  put 
the  Moslem  reader  into  a  hostile  attitude  from  the  start. 

[121] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

Beyond  tracts,  there  is  very  little  Bengali  literature  for 
Moslems.  Sweet  First  Fruits  is  in  translation,  and  Mr.  Gold- 
sack’s  Ghulam  JabbaFs  Renunciation  is  on  sale,  as  well  as 
his  Bengali  translation  of  the  Koran,  most  valuable  to  the 
Christian  Church,  and  indeed  necessary  for  working  purposes, 
but,  naturally  enough,  suspect  among  educated  Moslems. 

Some  of  the  existent  Bengali  literature  might  be  made 
serviceable  for  Moslems,  if  it  were  done  into  the  Mussulmani 
dialect.  Among  such  are  noted  three  simple  Bible  stories  with 
very  ready  sale  (The  Creation,  The  Story  of  Joseph,  The 
Story  of  Elijah  and  Elisha)  an  edition  of  the  Psalms  in  verse, 
a  tract  called  The  Mirror  of  the  Heart,  and  several  more  gen¬ 
eral  books  especially  descriptions  of  other  countries. 

The  strongest  point  about  the  comparatively  small  Bengali 
literature  already  issued  in  the  Moslem  form  of  the  language 
is  the  proportion  of  the  tracts  (principally  Bible  stories)  pub¬ 
lished  in  rhyme.  It  is  hard  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of 
this  form  for  village  readers. 

LITERATURE  NEEDED 

The  literature  planned  for  Moslems  is  all  to  be  produced  in 
the  Mussulmani  form  of  the  language,  and  the  list  of  litera¬ 
ture  desired  in  Urdu  and  quoted  as  an  exemplar  for  other 
Indian  languages,  might  be  transferred  whole  (with  the  sole 
exception  of  the  proposals  for  magazines)  to  Mussulmani 
Bengali.  But  besides  these  needs  common  to  Urdu,  Bengali, 
with  its  enormous  village  population,  has  several  additional 
wants  to  make  known : 

(a)  A  catechism,  using  Moslem  terms,  covering  Bible 
ground,  giving  teaching  on  the  Holy  Spirit  and  on  prayer, 
and  meeting  the  common  Moslem  objections. 

(b)  A  simple  Bible  primer,  containing  stories  from  Adam 
to  Jesus,  and  well  illustrated. 

(c)  A  more  advanced  reader  comprising  more  Stories 
of  the  Prophets  somewhat  along  the  line  of  Miss  McClean’s 
book  of  that  name  which  has  proved  so  useful  to  Bible- 
women. 

[122] 


Copyright  by  Publishers  Photo  Service 


IN  THE  booksellers’  BAZAAR 


A  Bookstore  in  Lucknow. 


Notice  the  Alphabet  Charts  in  Arabic  and  English 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


(d)  Tracts:  Most  of  the  tracts  written  for  Moslems 
by  Dr.  Rouse  and  others  in  Bengali  and  English  are  out  of 
print.  Since  tracts  are  urgently  needed,  it  is  suggested  that 
such  earlier  leaflets  as  it  is  proposed  to  re-issue  should  be 
carefully  revised  from  the  point  of  view  of  subject  matter 
and  method  of  approach.  For  East  Bengal,  tracts  are  needed 
in  the  simple  vernacular  of  the  villagers ;  these  should  be  only 
a  leaflet  printed  on  both  sides  of  fairly  good  paper.  For  sim¬ 
ple  Moslems  we  should  approximate  our  publications  to  the 
size  and  style  of  their  religious  puthi  (the  religious  booklets 
referred  to  above),  the  language  being  the  rhymed  couplet  so 
common  in  that  class  of  book. 

The  proposals  for  Christian  literature  in  Urdu  and  Mus- 
sulmani  Bengali  may  be  taken  as  giving  in  rough  general  form 
the  norm  for  such  proposals  in  other  Indian  languages.  Urdu 
sets  the  type  of  proposal  for  the  more  literary  languages, 
Mussulman!  Bengali  adds  the  type  for  less  literate  popula¬ 
tions,  especially  outside  the  urban  centres.  Under  the  remain¬ 
ing  languages  we  shall  not  state  detailed  schemes  unless  they 
propose  some  literary  task  peculiar  to  themselves. 


111.  Mussulmani  Punjabi 

This  is  the  dialect  of  some  13,000,000  Moslems,  com¬ 
prising  about  half  the  population  of  the  North  West  Frontier 
Province.  It  is  the  language  of  a  sturdy  people  but  not  of  a 
great  literature.  The  literary  members  of  the  community  all 
know  Urdu,  which  is  taught  in  the  Government  schools. 

EXISTENT  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

A  small  tract  literature  has  been  prepared  for  these  Mos¬ 
lems  in  their  mother  tongue,  chiefly  by  the  Rev.  R.  M.  Waiz, 
and  printed  at  Lahore.  There  is  only  a  total  of  a  dozen  titles, 
comprising  simple  tales,  the  Hundred  Texts,  and — of  chief 
importance  for  illiterate  village  folk — a  Life  of  Christ,  and 
one  or  two  shorter  Bible  stories  in  rhymed  Punjabi  verse.  Of 

[123] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


this  Life  of  Christ  from  St.  Luke’s  Gospel,  a  missionary 
writes  “It  is  good  to  hear  the  passion  with  which  it  is  followed 
hour  after  hour.  Constant  repetition  is  a  feature  of  their 
music,  and  one  realises  the  wisdom  of  this  with  a  people  most 
of  whom  cannot  read.  They  pick  up  the  words  at  perhaps  the 
third  repetition,  and  the  whole  congregation  is  singing.” 


IF.  English 

English  should  appear  not  later  than  fourth  in  order  of 
importance,  among  the  languages  for  influencing  Indian 
Moslems.  (For  details  see  chap.  X,  European  Languages.) 


F.  Sindhi 

More  than  2)4  million  of  the  population  of  Sindh,  or  72 
per  cent  of  the  whole  speak  this  dialect. 

Existent  Christian  Literature  :  A  literature  of 
seventeen  titles  exists  for  Sindh.  There  are  two  books  of 
some  size.  The  Pilgrim's  Progress  and  The  Test  of  a  Guru 
(on  Christian  evidences).  Besides  this,  two  small  hymn- 
books  exist,  and  the  rest  is  booklet  literature,  chiefly  on  Bible 
stories,  two  of  the  booklets  giving  the  Life  of  the  Saviour  in 
verse.  Only  one  booklet  (questions  and  answers  on  Moham¬ 
medan  objections)  deals  specifically  with  Moslem  difficulties. 
Fifteen  of  the  seventeen  Sindhi  Christian  works  have  been 
issued  anonymously.  The  latest  addition  to  this  scanty  litera¬ 
ture  is  a  Sindhi  commentary  on  St.  Mark  in  preparation  by 
Canon  Ali  Baksh  for  use  in  the  villages. 


FI.  Hindi 

Hindi,  spoken  by  82,000,000  people,  has  16%  of  Mos¬ 
lems.  For  these  readers  in  a  few  cases  duplicate  issues  have 
been  made  of  the  Urdu  books  for  Moslems;  in  such  books  the 

[124] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


title,  treatment,  and  to  a  very  great  extent  the  language  is 
identical  but  the  Nagari  character  is  used  instead  of  the  Per¬ 
sian.  Hindi,  like  Urdu  and  the  other  principal  Indian  lan¬ 
guages,  has  a  small  number  of  books  to  enable  Indian  Chris¬ 
tians  to  understand  Islam.  An  important  work  in  this  class 
is  a  Hindi  translation  of  the  Koran  by  the  Rev.  Ahmad  Shah. 

NOTE  ON  BORDER  LANGUAGES 

Kashmiri,  Pushtu  and  Beluchi  have  this  in  common,  that 
they  are  languages  of  peoples  who  have  never  yet  produced 
a  literature  and  who  look  for  schooling  and  progressive  ideas 
to  greater  neighbour  languages,  like  Urdu  and  Persian.  The 
words  of  Lowenthal,  the  brilliant  pioneer  scholar-missionary 
shot  on  the  borders  of  Afghanistan  in  1864,  may  indicate  a 
policy  for  Christian  literature  in  Pushtu  and  in  other  barely- 
civilised  mother  tongues  which  persist  under  the  shadow  of 
great  literary  languages : 

“He  who  would  undertake  the  glorious  task  of  giving 
the  Afghans  the  beginning  of  a  real  literature,  of  a  Christian 
literature,  would  have  first  to  ascertain  the  most  prevalent,  the 
purest,  the  best  understood  dialect,  and  not  rest  content  with 
translating  into  the  language  of  the  frontier.  Frontier  dialects 
are  always  mongrel  and  inferior.  An  additional  task  will  be 
his  who  shall  endeavour  to  bring  the  Afghans  to  Christ 
through  the  instrumentality  of  religious  treatises  or  tracts. 
He  will  probably  find  it  highly  advisable  if  not  actually 
necessary,  to  compose  them  in  the  form  of  verse  and  rhyme. 
There  seems  a  period  in  the  history  of  every  nation,  when 
prose  cannot  live,  when  the  distinction  between  prose  and 
poetry  is  unknown,  and  the  instructors  of  a  people  can  only 
speak  to  them  in  measured  language;  when  prose  to  them  is 
prosy  and  rhyme  reason.  So  it  is  with  the  Afghans  of  this 
day.  There  are  prose  works  in  their  language,  historical  and 
religious,  but  while  these  are  merely  read  by  learned  men  here 
and  there,  the  works  in  verse  are  extremely  popular  among 
all  classes,  and  are  recited  and  sung  on  roads  and  streets  by 
old  and  young.  The  Lord  must  appoint  the  men  for  this 

[125] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


peculiar  enterprise  of  Christian  literature.  He  must  endue 
them  with  the  needed  qualifications,  and  He  must  open  the 
door  of  faith.” 


Vll.  Kashmiri 

Although  Kashmiri  is  the  language  of  nearly  2j4  million, 
or  more  than  three  quarters  of  the  population  of  Kashmir,  it 
is  in  no  sense  a  literary  language,  and  literates  generally  read 
Persian  or  Urdu.  In  the  schools  Kashmiri  is  only  used  for 
explanation  in  the  lower  classes,  text-books  being  in  Urdu  or 
English.  The  only  Kashmiri  literature  is  the  New  Testament 
with  parts  of  the  Old,  and  a  few  leaflet  tracts.  Dr.  Minnie 
Gomery  last  year  prepared  some  Kashmiri  Christian  hymns 
for  simple  folk. 


Vlll.  Pushtu 

One  and  a  half  million  Moslems  in  the  North  West 
Frontier  province  and  in  the  northern  part  of  Beloochistan 
speak  this  language,  as  well  as  numerous  Pathan  tribes  in  that 
wild  intricacy  of  rugged  hills  between  British  India  and  the 
Emirate  of  Kabul.  Within  Afghanistan,  Persian  and  Pushtu 
are  rival  languages,  Persian  preponderating  near  the  Persian 
frontiers.  In  British  India,  Pathan  converts  learn  Urdu,  and 
non-Christians  who  are  literate  in  Pushtu  also  read  Persian. 
Considering  the  far  greater  literary  opportunities  in  Urdu  and 
Persian  it  is  doubtful  whether  Pushtu  will  ever  attain  a  great 
literature.  But  it  has  its  significance  as  the  Gaelic  of  some 
of  the  sturdiest  Highlands  in  the  world,  a  purely  Moslem  race, 
the  opening  of  whose  closed  land  may  be  one  of  the  great 
events  in  the  story  of  Moslem  evangelisation.  Pathan  con¬ 
verts  have  already  shown  that  they  have  in  them  the  stuff  of 
Christian  martyrs,  and  have  risked  their  lives  on  apostolic 
journeys.  Dr.  T.  L.  Pennell,  who  loved  the  race,  long  ago 
pointed  out  that  they  are  a  people  endowed  both  with  strength 
[126] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


of  character  and  with  the  travel  gift.  ‘‘The  Provindahs,” 
he  wrote  in  1912,  “are  familiar  in  all  parts  of  India  as  the 
stalwart,  truculent,  Afghan  traders,  and  most  of  the  men  of 
these  tribes  are  able  to  read  the  Koran  in  Arabic  (without 
however  understanding  the  meaning),  and  carry  a  copy  about 
with  them  on  their  travels.” 

It  was  noted  that  a  Pathan  convert  carried  in  the  same  way 
his  Bible  and  a  set  of  pictures  of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  pro¬ 
duced  them  everywhere.  The  Afghans  may  be  regarded  as  a 
carrier  race;  they  are  met  in  Arabia,  East  Africa,  Burma, 
Malaysia  and  even  West  Australia.  The  importance  for 
evangelisation  throughout  all  Moslem  Central  Asia  of  the  new 
opportunities  for  intercourse  with  the  Afghan  race  can  hardly 
be  overestimated. 

EXISTENT  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

Parts  of  Minar  al  Haqq,  Sweet  First  Fruits,  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  The  Mirror  of  the  Heart,  and  another  book  called 
The  Covenant  of  Salvation,  with  three  small  hymnbooks  make 
almost  the  total  of  Pushtu  Christian  literature. 

LITERATURE  NEEDED 

The  rhymed  presentations  of  the  Gospel  story,  which 
Lowenthal  longed  to  see  sixty  years  ago,  have  never  come  into 
being. 

“There  is  need  to-day  for  a  well-illustrated  simple  Bible 
Primer  with  stories  from  Adam  to  Jesus.” 

“For  readers  in  the  Peshawar  district  there  should  be  re¬ 
vived  a  simple  Pushtu  newspaper  like  that  formerly  issued  by 
the  late  Dr.  Pennell.” 


IX.  Beluchi 

The  position  of  Beluchi,  as  of  Kashmiri  is,  on  a  smaller 
scale,  rather  similar  to  that  of  Pushtu.  It  is  a  Moslem  mother 
tongue  never  likely  to  be  a  great  literary  language.  It  is  used 

[127], 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


by  nearly  91  per  cent  of  the  people  of  a  desert  land  whose 
total  population  is  just  under  415,000.  The  new  railroad 
built  during  the  war  through  Beloochistan  to  the  Persian  bor¬ 
der  only  serves  to  emphasise  the  literary  dominion  of  the  Per¬ 
sian  language  with  its  great  prestige.  There  is  practically  no 
literature  in  Beluchi  save  Scripture  translations. 

X.  Persian 

See  chap.  V.  (Literature  for  Persian-reading  Moslems.) 

XL  Burmese 

There  are  about  420,000  Moslems  in  Burma  including 
many  immigrants  from  India  and  they  show  a  tendency  to 
increase,  especially  in  Rangoon.  Most  of  them  are  found  in 
the  coast  ranges,  and  they  reach  an  unusually  high  rate  of 
literacy, — about  18  per  cent.  Bible  Society  colporteurs  have 
represented  them  as  readily  approachable  also,  as  the  following 
extracts  show :  “A  Mohammedan  silk  merchant  called  me  to 
him  in  the  bazaar  and  bought  up  all  the  books  I  had,  explain¬ 
ing  that  he  wished  to  present  copies  to  his  friends.”  “A 
Mohammedan  lady  sent  a  boy  for  more  books  saying  she 
was  much  pleased  and  wished  to  give  them  to  her  children  and 
her  sisters  that  they  might  read  about  the  Prophet  Jesus.” 

EXISTENT  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

Small  beginnings  were  made  by  the  late  Dr.  W.  F. 
Armstrong  of  the  Baptist  Mission,  who  took  part  in  a  public 
debate  with  leading  Moslems,  won  the  friendship  of  his 
opponents,  and  on  going  blind,  dictated  a  series  of  messages 
to  thinking  men  among  the  Moslems,  which  were  published 
and  well  received. 

With  the  proposed  appointment  of  a  whole  time  literature 
secretary  for  Burmese,  it  should  be  possible  to  follow  up  these 
beginnings. 

[128] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


XIl.  Gujerati  and  Marathi 

The  Moslems  of  the  Bombay  Presidency  have  far-flung 
connections.  In  the  Persian  Guif  and  along  the  North 
Arabian  coast,  or  in  Baghdad  one  meets  them.  In  Madagascar 
again,  and  along  the  East  African  coast  they  are  found,  while 
the  report  from  Malaysia  says  that  a  considerable  number  of 
Moslem  immigrants  from  British  India  speak  Gujerati.  Steps 
are  now  being  taken  to  set  apart  literary  workers  for  these, 
the  two  great  languages  of  the  Presidency.  In  literature  for 
Moslems  almost  nothing  has  been  done.  Gujerati  has  eleven 
titles  of  Christian  books  for  Moslems,  and  the  report  of  the 
recent  Indian  literature  survey  summarised  the  situation  as 
follows : : 

“The  few  books  dealing  with  Islam  that  exist  in  Gujerati 
are  not  very  satisfactory,  and  we  have  none  at  all  specially 
written  for  the  Mohammedan  communities  such  as  Borahs, 
Khojas  (or  Islamised  Hindus  belonging  to  the  Ismahliya 
Sect),  Memans  and  Molesalams,  who  are  so  numerous  in 
Gujerat,  Kathiawar,  and  Bombay.  It  will  be  difficult  to  secure 
such  books  until  some  of  our  missionaries  undertake  to  make 
a  special  study  of  one  or  more  of  these  communities,  and  I 
have  not  heard  of  any  doing  so  yet.” 


XIII.  Tamil  and  the  Languages  of  South  India 

Tamil  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  those  languages  of 
Southern  India — Telugu,  Malayalam,  Kanarese,  etc.  (with 
Sinhalese  in  Ceylon) — whose  main  constituency  is  of  another 
faith,  but  which  have  also  a  Moslem  minority,  so  small  in 
comparison  with  the  Hindu  masses  as  to  be  in  danger  of  being 
overlooked  by  producers  of  literature.  These  last  are  men 
with  a  very  large  task  and  very  little  money,  and  unless  some 
central  worker  is  set  apart  to  stimulate  and  assist  in  special 
production  for  Moslems  not  very  much  can  be  expected. 

There  is  probably  held  in  solution  at  any  one  time  amongst 

[129] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


the  Hindus  of  South  India  a  residuum  of  about  a  million 
members  of  the  Moslem  communities  of  the  north, — foreign 
migrants  who  speak  Urdu,  some  of  Arabian  and  Persian 
origin,  sturdy  wandering  Pathans,  merchants  and  travelling 
sheikhs. 

The  Moslem  minorities  of  the  south  may  generally  be 
said  to  owe  their  existence  either  to  the  descendants  of  such 
immigrants  by  wives  of  southern  stock,  or  to  their  missionary 
activity;  in  the  case  of  the  Marakkayars,  however, — the  own¬ 
ers  of  most  of  the  coasting  craft  on  the  Coromandel  shore, — 
we  may  perhaps  look  back  to  an  infusion  of  the  blood  and 
faith  of  Arab  and  Persian  mariners. 

The  Moplas  (or  Mapillahs)  of  Malabar  are  probably  de¬ 
scendants  of  Arab  fathers  and  local  mothers.  They  take  a 
pride  in  reading  their  Malayalam  literature  in  the  Arabic 
character ;  and  recent  political  events  have  shown  that  a  burn¬ 
ing  fanaticism  is  easily  stirred  in  the  Moplah  districts.  But 
quite  apart  from  special  political  promptings  they  are  con¬ 
tinuously  an  active  Moslem  missionary  force,  felt  throughout 
Malabar  and  Kanara.  A  missionary  writes : 

“During  an  outbreak  of  cholera,  Malayalam-speaking  con¬ 
verts  to  Islam  carried  on  a  most  successful  propaganda  of  their 
faith.  Mopla  men  and  women  went  to  the.  houses  of  their 
neighbours  and  praised  conversion  to  Islam  as  the  only  and 
sure  means  of  escaping  the  dire  disease.  And  whole  families 
embraced  Islam  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  two-thirds  of  their 
victims  of  the  disease  were  Moplas.” 

For  these  ardent  Moslems,  two  books  and  a  tract  exist  in 
Malayalam;  in  Kanarese,  two  tracts.  It  is  probable  that 
more  of  the  existing  Malayalam  Christian  literature,  especially 
of  the  nature  of  Bible  stories,  might  be  made  serviceable  to 
them,  if  it  were  first  worked  over  by  a  missionary  familiar 
with  the  local  Moslem  vocabulary  and  then  published  in  the 
Arabic  character. 

The  Tamil-speaking  Moslems  are  in  part,  like  the  Moplas, 
the  result  of  Mbslem  immigration  from  the  north  or  from 
foreign  parts,  and  in  part  the  descendants  of  southern  con¬ 
verts  without  intermixture  of  foreign  Moslem  blood.  The 

[130] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


former,  or  Labbais,  are  traders  and  betel-vine  growers  in 
Tanjore  and  Madura;  a  few  of  them  are  divers.  The  latter 
are  the  Ravidtans,  once  very  largely  employed  in  Tippu 
Sultan’s  cavalry,  but  now  for  the  most  part  frugal  leather 
traders.  Some  of  them  go  far  afield,  for  the  Malaysian 
report  says : 

“In  the  British  area  there  are  a  great  many  Mohammedans 
from  British  India,  most  of  whom  speak  Tamil.  None  of  the 
missionaries  are  specialising  in  work  among  these  Indian 
peoples,  except  in  so  far  as  we  come  across  them  as  students 
in  our  schools.  There  are  many  Tamil  Christian  pastors  and 
evangelists,  but  they  work  chiefly  among  the  Hindus. 

As  in  Malaysia,  so  at  home,  these  Tamil-speaking  Moslems 
are  a  neglected  element.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Madras, 
through  the  labours  of  Canon  Sell  and  the  far-seeing  policy 
of  the  Christian  Literature  Society,  has  become  one  of  the 
greatest  centres  of  publication  for  Moslems;  and  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  Tamil  has  probably  the  greatest  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in  India,  the  Moslem  minorities  of  the  Madras  Presi¬ 
dency  and  Tamil-speaking  Moslems  in  Ceylon  are  almost 
overlooked.  And  this  even  though  the  Ahmadiya  movement 
finds  it  worth  while  to  publish  a  Tamil  version  of  its  Islamic 
Review. 

A  special  form  of  Tamil  is  necessary  in  work  for  Moslems; 
they  interlard  it  with  Arabic  terms  as  the  Brahmans  introduce 
Sanskrit.  A  book  in  the  Arabic  type  is  dear  to  them  and 
should  it  fall  will  be  kissed  and  raised  to  the  forehead. 

The  present  supply  of  such  literature  in  Tamil  (as  in 
Telugu)  consists  chiefly  of  Dr.  Rouse’s  series  of  tracts.  In 
Tamil  there  are  twelve  titles  in  all,  the  longest  work  being  of 
36  pages.  There  has  not  yet  been  any  attempt  to  adapt  exist¬ 
ing  Tamil  books  of  Bible  stories  to  a  vocabulary  understood  by 
Tamil  Moslems  and  to  reprint  them  in  Arabic  character.  And 
although  there  are  in  Tamil  thirty-two  tracts  in  verse  for 
Hindu  readers  and  fourteen  books  of  hymns  in  Indian  metres, 
there  has  not  yet  arisen  a  Christian  versifier  for  the  Moslem 
community.  Literature  for  children  is  mentioned  as  a  special 
need,  especially  leaflets  with  coloured  pictures. 

[131] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Perhaps  the  most  important  step  is  to  lay  the  burden  of  the 
Moslem  population  upon  the  heart  of  the  Indian  Christian 
Church.  To  this  end,  Canon  Sell’s  Faith  of  Islam  has  been 
translated  into  Tamil,  but  apart  from  this  Mr.  Clayton’s 
report  says,  “There  is  practically  no  literature  in  Tamil  dealing 
with  Islam  from  the  Christian  standpoint.” 

XIV.  C  onclusions 

So  great  is  India  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring  this  chapter 
into  the  same  scale  of  treatment  with  the  rest.  Some  of  her 
languages  have  not  even  been  mentioned,  which,  although  not 
Moslem  tongues,  yet  cannot  afford  to  ignore  Islam.  Thus  the 
report  on  Oriya  Christian  literature  says,  “The  catalogue 
mentions  one  small  tract  only,  dealing  with  Islam,  which  is 
now  out  of  print.  It  is  true  we  do  not  deal  much  with  Mos¬ 
lems  but  Dr.  Rouse’s  series  of  tracts  should  really  be  available 
in  Oriya.” 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  an  effective  handling 
of  the  situation  can  only  be  hoped  for  by  setting  apart  at  least 
one  central  worker  in  Moslem  literature,  to  foster  and  aid  the 
efforts  of  the  literary  workers  in  the  various  languages.  The 
plan  adopted,  too,  by  the  Christian  Literature  Society,  of  pre¬ 
paring  specialist  books  in  English,  for  translation,  seems 
abundantly  justified. 

The  reports  sound  clearly  a  call  for  a  new  note  in  apolo¬ 
getic  literature.  Dr.  E.  M.  Wherry  in  publishing  his  classified 
list  of  Urdu  Christian  literature  in  1920,  wrote: 

“The  literature  needed  for  Moslems  in  the  new  era  is 
two-fold : 

(a)  A  spiritual  literature  addressed  to  men,  not  as  Moslems, 

but  as  sinners  needing  to  be  reconciled  to  God  or 
filled  by  His  Spirit. 

(b)  A  Scriptural  apologetic,  holding  up  Jesus  Christ  as  the 

Saviour  of  the  world  whose  law  of  liberty  must 
become  the  only  law  of  life. 

[132] 


INDIAN  MOSLEMS 


This  will  necessitate  a  revision  of  much  of  the  literature 
already  published.” 

Canon  Sell  urges  that  whatever  new  paths  we  follow  in 
apologetic  literature  we  maintain  a  high  standard  of  accuracy, 
working  directly  from  Arabic  and  Persian  sources  with  full 
verification  of  all  quotations,  in  footnotes. 

The  reports  indicate  also  much  work  before  the  Indian 
Church  in  the  study  of  the  various  local  Moslem  sects  and 
communities,  and  in  thinking  out  her  apologetics  for  those 
modernising  schools  in  which  the  keenest  intellectual  life  and 
propagandist  energy  of  Islam  is  to  be  found  to-day. 

Certain  other  general  lines  for  new  literature  are  indicated. 
We  quote  from  the  report : 

Experimental  :  ‘Tt  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that 
while  it  is  still  advisable  to  maintain  a  large  proportion  of 
literature  to  meet  specific  Moslem  errors,  there  is  urgent 
need  in  India  to-day  for  more  positive  contributions  from  the 
side  of  Christian  faith  and  experience.” 

Colloquial:  “Many  workers  throughout  Northern 

India  feel  the  need  of  a  Life  of  Jesus  in  the  colloquial  lan¬ 
guages,  for  simple  uneducated  millions  of  village  folk, — 
Moslem  men,  women  and  children.  Plans  are  already  on 
foot  to  adapt  a  suitable  English  work  for  this  purpose,  and 
make  a  text  in  simple  modern  English,  available  for  transla¬ 
tion  into  vernaculars.” 

Stories  and  Pictures  :  There  is  a  general  demand 
that  literature  for  children,  and  for  the  only-just  literate, 
shall  have  pictures,  and  shall  be  largely  a  story  literature. 
“The  need  is  widely  felt  for  another  writer  with  the  sacred 
gift  of  A.L.O.E.  who  will  be  able  to  do  similar  work,  but 
with  Moslem  readers  in  view.” 

A  note  of  optimism  characterises  the  whole  report.  “We 
would  suggest  that  a  central  body  be  constituted  for  all 
India,  composed  of  experts  in  the  matter  of  literature  for 
Moslems,  and  that  this  body,  having  before  it  the  more  urgent 
needs,  approach  certain  persons  with  the  object  of  getting 
them  to  take  in  hand  a  definite  piece  of  work.  We  are  on  the 
threshold  of  a  new  era  when  all  missions  will  work  in  closer 
harmony  than  hitherto.”  [133] 


Chapter  VII 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  MALAYSIA 
AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 

In  these  islands  the  flank  of  Islam  is  unsupported 
on  the  north  and  the  east.  It  is  also  weakened  by  its 
failure  to  impose  its  sacred  Arabic  script  and 
language  upon  the  people.  Nowhere  else  is  woman¬ 
hood  so  freely  accessible  to  the  Gospel  message.  At 
this  time  the  leaven  of  new  ideas  is  stirring  the 
whole  mass,  and.  the  demand  for  education  is  in¬ 
creasing  with  every  fresh  effort  to  meet  that  demand. 

A  generous  government  makes  available  medical 
mission  work  at  a  minimum  of  expense  to  mission 
funds.  It  is  highly  significant  that  at  a  time  when 
such  movements  are  converging,  the  ChAstian  mis¬ 
sions  should  be  drawing  together  for  greater  co¬ 
operation. — Rev.  Harry  B.  Mansell,  Supt.  Java 
Mission,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

^‘Insulinde’^  is  the  happy  Dutch  name  for  an  island  world 
spread  over  an  area  as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  present  Survey  this  great  area  was 
grouped  as  follows : 

a.  The  Dutch  East  Indian  Empire  including  Java,  Su¬ 
matra,  the  greater  part  of  Borneo,  the  island  of  Celebes  and 
the  smaller  islands  to  the  East  of  Java. 

b.  British  Malaya  including  the  Malay  Peninsula  with 
Singapore  and  Penang,  and  the  three  states  of  North  Borneo. 

c.  The  Philippine  Islands  under  America,  with  their 
Moslem  population  especially  in  Mindanao,  and  the  Sulu 
Archipelago. 

This  island  world  has  had  about  five  centuries  of  contact 
with  Islam.  To-day  in  Java  alone  there  are  35,000,000,  vir- 

[134], 


MALAYSIA  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 


tually  all  Moslems.  Since  the  14th  century  the  dreaded 
Malay  pirates  on  the  north  coast  of  Sumatra  have  been 
Moslem,  and  from  that  century  dates  a  steady  permeation  by 
Islam.  It  has  worked  through  trade,  through  marriage, 
through  slavery,  and  in  the  early  days  through  war.  It  works 
to-day  in  great  part  through  the  influence  of  ilni  ^  (“magic,” 
the  Arabic  word  is  corrupted  into  a  Malay  form,  Elmu) 
imparted  by  a  guru  to  murids,  united  for  ever  to  their  teacher 
and  to  one  another  by  a  magical  bond.  The  progress  of  Islam 
during  the  19th  century  was  helped  rather  than  hindered  by 
the  presence  of  European  Governments.  “The  up-country 
Government  staff  (of  Sumatra)  is  chiefly  recruited  from 
among  Mohammedans.  The  official  language  of  the  Colonial 
Government  is  the  Malay  language;  and  this,  written  for  the 
most  part  in  Arabic  character,  promotes  Moslem  propaganda. 
In  the  Government  schools  the  teachers  are  mostly  Moham¬ 
medans,  and  their  influence  in  propagating  Islam  is  very 
considerable.”  ^  Since  this  paragraph  was  written  in  1913 
the  Dutch  Government  has  deliberately  changed  its  policy  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  the  Arabic  character.  The  Romanized 
script  is  now  used  in  both  Dutch  and  British  vernacular 
schools.  But  the  change  came  late  and  the  Mohammedan 
Malay  greatly  prefers  the  Arabic  script. 

The  progress  of  Islam  still  continues.  In  giving  a  list  of 
the  eight  chief  languages  spoken  by  Moslems  in  this  area,  the 
Survey  reports  an  increase  in  the  percentage  of  Moslems  using 
every  language.  In  Celebes,  in  North  Borneo  and  away 
beyond  the  area  of  the  present  Survey,  among  the  forests  of 
New  Guinea,  Islam  is  gradually  gaining  on  the  old  paganism. 

The  Islam  of  these  parts  has  a  character  all  its  own.  In 
the  charms  used  by  the  medicine  men  of  the  Malay  Peninsula 
the  chief  gods  of  the  Brahmin  pantheon  remain  as  the  chief 
figures  among  'afrits  and  'jinn.  In  the  islands,  where  it  found 
primitive  animistic  cults,  Islam  “has  relaid  the  old  animistic 


^  It  is  curious  to  note  that  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  influence  of  the 
Malay  Moslems  in  their  conversion  of  poor  whites  in  Cape  Town  is  the 
practice  of  magic.  See  The  Moslem  World,  Jan.,  1915,  pp.  33,  36,  37. 

^  The  Moslem  World,  April,  1913,  p.  162. 

[135] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


foundations  of  the  heathen’s  religion,  and  run  up  a  light 
artistic  superstructure  upon  it  of  Moslem  customs.”  ^  Yet 
have  these  people  a  stake  in  the  world  of  Islam,  and  no  Moslem 
land  sends  so  high  a  percentage  of  pilgrims  to  Mecca.  The 
total  number  of  pilgrims  in  1921  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
was  28,788.  And  the  total  number  of  pilgrims  at  Mecca  that 
year  was  60,786.  That  is,  almost  one-half  of  all  the  pilgrims 
came  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

This  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  one  of  the  steady  foreign 
contacts  of  the  Malaysian  world,  and  it  strengthens  the 
Islamic  consciousness  of  the  people.  Thousands  of  Arabs 
also  enter  the  island  world  for  trading  purposes,  and  very 
lordly  are  these  ancient  aristocrats  of  Islam  toward  the 
parvenus  of  Insulinde,  among  whom  they  all  lay  claim  to 
belong  not  only  to  the  race  but  to  the  very  family  of  the 
Prophet.  Other  foreign  influences  continually  stream  upon 
this  middle  world,  for  Singapore  is  one  of  the  great  meeting- 
places  of  mankind  and  Malaysia  is  subject  on  the  one  hand  to 
a  stream  of  Indian  influences  and  on  the  other  to  a  steady 
current  from  China.  The  Indians  and  the  Chinese  are  every¬ 
where  in  evidence  as  shopkeepers.  Malaysia  has  a  large 
Chinese  population.  The  rubber  lands  draw  a  steady  flow  of 
immigrant  Indian  labour,  largely  Tamil.  These  contacts  have 
included  some  touch  with  Christianity,  and  the  past  has  seen 
a  tendency  on  the  part  of  missions  in  the  British  area  to 
specialise  on  work  for  the  Indian  and  Chinese  population, 
“with  splendid  results.”  Amongst  the  immigrants  “there  are 
many  Tamil  Christian  pastors  and  evangelists,  but  they  work 
entirely  among  the  Hindus.”  The  bulk  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  British  Malaya  is  Chinese.  Owing  to  the  difficulty 
of  reading  their  own  written  character,  many  of  these  Chinese 
born  in  the  country  are  literate  in  Malay  rather  than  in 
Chinese.  The  Malay  newspapers,  even  those  which  cater  for 
a  Moslem  public  and  appear  strongly  Moslem  are  owned  and 
edited  by  Malay-speaking  Chinese.  The  Chinese  speak  and 
write  as  a  rule  a  debased  form  of  Malay  (“Baba-Malay”) 
which  is  unattractive  to  the  Moslem  population,  but  one 
“Gottfried  Simon,  Progress  and  Arrest  of  Islam  in  Sumgtra. 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Chinese  Christian  has  published  four  Malay  tracts  for 
Christians. 


I.  T he  Entrance  of  C hristian  Literature 

“The  first  Christian  literature  in  the  Malay  language  was 
produced  by  the  chaplains  sent  out  by  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company  early  in  the  17th  century.  It  seems  to  have  con¬ 
sisted  chiefly  of  books  of  sermons  (preek  bundels)  and 
catechisms.” 

They  had  an  interesting  successor  during  the  second  decade 
of  the  19th  century  in  a  German  clockmaker  named  Embde. 
He  heard  of  the  “perpetual  summer”  of  Java,  and  the  phrase 
clashed  with  the  literal  interpretation  of  Genesis  VIII  .22. 
This  good  man  set  sail  for  the  East  to  disprove  the  accounts 
of  travellers  which  seemed  contrary  to  his  reading  of  the 
Bible.  His  faith  survived  the  climate,  and  he  remained  to 
evangelise  with  considerable  success,  and  to  publish  Christian 
tracts  in  Java.  None  of  these  early  efforts  showed  much 
understanding  of  the  minds  of  the  people  they  were  to  help. 
They  followed  the  lines  then  approved  in  religious  literature 
at  home. 

The  scholarly  work  of  the  Bible  Societies  began  early,  and 
not  only  is  the  entire  Bible  available  in  the  chief  languages  of 
Insulinde,  but  the  Netherlands  Bible  Society  has  prepared 
Bible  handbooks  and  Bible  histories  which  are  preferred  for 
use  among  new  converts.  The  Society  claims  that  as  a  pre¬ 
liminary  to  standard  translations  this  form  of  giving  God’s 
Word  in  a  new  tongue  is  to  be  preferred. 

The  first  missionaries  sent  to  this  field  by  the  London 
Missionary  Society  and  the  American  Board,  1815-40,  had 
printing  presses  at  Singapore,  Malacca  and  Batavia  and  pro¬ 
duced  a  considerable  quantity  of  literature.  In  1843  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  were  withdrawn  to  China,  but  the  press  at  Singapore 
continued  in  the  hands  of  an  independent  missionary  until  1872, 
producing  a  good  deal  of  literature  for  Moslems  some  of  which 
has  been  re-printed  in  recent  years.  The  present  successors 

[138] 


A  MALAY  TYPESETTER  USING  LINOTYPE  MACHINE,  SINGAPORE 


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MALAYSIA  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 


of  this  work  are  three  Dutch  literature  committees  in  Java, 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Press  at  Singapore. 

The  Colonial  Government  of  the  Netherlands,  which  for 
half  a  century  has  adopted  a  most  benevolent,  patriarchal 
attitude  toward  the  backward  races  and  classes  in  its  island 
empire,  is  to-day  pushing  forward  a  program  of  general 
education,  and  has  established  a  Bureau  voor  Lectuur  (Litera¬ 
ture  Department)  under  able  management.  This  Bureau  has 
set  up  thousands  of  small  loan  libraries  in  connection  with 
government  schools,  and  issues  a  catalog  of  over  600  volumes. 
It  would  seem  possible  and  desirable  that  the  various  missions 
in  the  Dutch  Empire  should  influence  this  output,  and  perhaps 
direct  the  channels  of  its  influence  for  good. 


//.  The  Languages  to  be  Used  in  Insulinde 

The  most  compact  and  numerous  language  group  is  that 
which  speaks  Javanese,  the  tongue  of  some  twenty  millions  in 
Central  and  Eastern  Java,  where  the  population  is  denser  than 
anywhere  else  in  Malaysia. 

At  a  conference  held  in  1922  for  all  missions  in  Java,  it 
was  estimated  by  those  present  that  the  number  of  those  who 
read  Javanese  is  one  and  one-half  million,  Malay  1,000,000 
Sundanese  400,000,  and  Madurese  200,000.  Of  the  total 
population  in  Java  one-fiftieth  attend  school  of  some  sort. 
80,000  children  in  Java  are  studying  the  Dutch  language  and 
literacy  increases  every  year.  Here  among  the  young  people 
trained  in  Dutch  schools  is  a  great  thirst  for  reading  matter. 
In  one  year  the  Bible  Society  sold  47,000  Javanese  Scriptures. 
Less  favourable  conditions  prevail  among  the  twelve  millions 
in  Western  Java  who  speak  Sundanese. 

But  the  language  of  greatest  importance  for  those  who 
desire  to  serve  Moslems,  though  only  the  third  in  point  of 
numbers  using  it,  is  Malay.  ‘Tn  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
population  of  the  little  island  of  Java  is  probably  not  less  than 
seven-eighths  of  the  entire  population  of  the  East  Indies,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  of  that  island  (Javanese,  Sundanese  and 

[139] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Madurese)  provide  by  far  the  largest  number  of  those  who 
go  from  Malaysia  to  perform  the  pilgrimage  at  Mecca,  there 
can  yet  be  no  doubt  that  the  people  of  Java  have  never  been 
the  most  influential  Mohammedans  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
History  shows  that  Islam  has  been  spread  throughout  Ma¬ 
laysia  not  by  the  people  of  Java,  but  by  the  Malays  of  Sumatra 
and  the  Malay  Peninsula.  The  common  expression  for  be¬ 
coming  a  convert  to  Islam  is  masok  McdayUy  to  become  a 
Malay.  (W.  G.  Shellabear.) 

^‘Nearly  all  newspapers  are  printed  in  Malay  which  is  the 
language  of  Mohammedan  propaganda  throughout  the  Pen¬ 
insula  and  Archipelago,  and  Moslem  literature  in  the  Malay 
language  is  found  everywhere  in  this  region,”  The  Malay 
is  one  of  the  carrier  nations  of  Islam.  ^‘Malay  is  the  lingua 
franca  of  the  coast-line  and  rivers.  Every  river  in  Borneo  has 
its  Malay  settlement.  Northwards  in  Siam  the  Malays  form 
a  considerable  Moslem  community.  At  Bangkok,  where  they 
go  as  gardeners,  sayces  and  cloth-merchants,  is  a  Moslem 
centre  with  twenty  mosques  and  a  sheikh  from  the  Azhar. 
Here  is  the  linking  place  with  Chinese  Islam.  The  Malay 
who  goes  as  a  groom  to  Siam  links  hands  with  the  Yunnanese 
trader,  who  roves  the  north  of  the  country.  He  finds  in 
Chiengmai  a  mosque  built  by  the  Yunnanese  with  the  help  of 
Indian  Moslem  merchants.  The  Malay  is  a  travelled  person. 
About  half  of  the  Moslems  in  French  Indo-China  are  of  this 
race.  In  Cape  Colony  he  is  a  busy  propagandist  of  Islam, 
especially  by  marriage  with  Christian  girls.  Of  all  the 
languages  of  Insulinde,  “Undoubtedly  the  Malay  language  is 
the  most  important  medium  for  spreading  the  Gospel  amongst 
Moslems,  if  we  consider  the  whole  task.” 

There  remains  a  host  of  lesser  languages  that  call  out  all 
the  painstaking  love  of  the  Christian  Church,  beginning  with 
Madurese,  the  language  of  four  millions  in  Madura  and  East 
Java,  and  ending  with  the  least  of  the  io8  languages  of  the 
Dyak  and  other  tribes  of  Borneo.  There  is  no  prospect  that 
any  of  these  will  be  the  language  of  a  great  literature.  Nor 
have  all  of  them  need  of  a  special  Christian  literature  for 
Moslems.  Some  of  them  no  doubt  are  doomed  to  die.  Yet 
[140] 


MALAYSIA  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 


each  of  them  is  the  mother  tongue  for  some  human  group 
which  has  a  right  to  the  message  of  Christ  in  its  own  speech, 
and  which,  permeated  with  the  spirit  of  Christ  may  be  a  living 
barrier  to  the  spread  of  Islam. 

111.  Literature  Produced 

The  productions  of  the  Netherlands  Government  Bureau 
Vo  or  Lectuur,  mentioned  above,  are  neutral  (that  is  colourless 
in  regard  to  religious  belief)  yet  present  high  ideals,  including 
some  of  the  best  novels,  histories  and  books  of  popular  science. 
This  Bureau  also  publishes  a  first-class  illustrated  monthly 
magazine  in  Malay,  excellent  and  high-toned  in  contents  but 
without  any  religious  bias  or  distinctly  Christian  message. 

The  sixteen  missionary  societies  at  work  in  the  Dutch  area 
have  the  care  upon  them  of  a  large  Christian  Church,  the  fruit 
of  their  wonderful  evangelist  work.  Of  this  Church  of  60,000 
members,  40,000  are  converts  from  Islam. 

The  work  of  the  Rhenish  mission  in  Sumatra  has  resulted 
in  stemming  the  progress  of  Islam  among  native  tribes  and  in 
raising  up  a  Christian  community  right  across  the  island  from 
Sibolga  to  Medan.  Indeed  on  the  Island  of  Nias,  one  half  of 
the  population,  46,000,  are  Christians. 

With  so  large  a  Christian  community  to  care  for,  the 
Dutch  and  German  societies  have  produced  literature  in 
Malay,  Javanese,  Sundanese  and  Madurese,  chiefly  designed 
for  and  sold  to  Christians.  Its  largest  elements  are  Scripture 
commentaries  and  sermons,  with  a  book  of  Church  history, 
especially  designed  for  the  use  of  indigenous  preachers. 
The  possibilities  are  great,  and  the  missionary  societies  have 
recently  shown  signs  of  greater  co-operation  in  the  production 
of  literature,  which  is  everywhere  in  demand.  At  Solo,  for 
example,  47,000  copies  of  a  Christian  Javanese  Wall  Calendar, 
together  with  a  Gospel,  were  sold  last  year  by  one  mission. 
But  the  total  amount  available  in  the  various  missions  for 
literature  production  is  only  7,000  guilders  annually.  An 
exhibit  of  all  existing  literature  shown  at  a  conference  in 

[141] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


1922,  could  be  placed  on  one  small  table,  and  a  sample  copy 
of  every  book  and  tract  could  be  purchased  for  £10.  This  is 
a  pitiful  showing  after  more  than  100  years  of  missionary 
effort.  In  the  character  of  the  literature  provided,  both  as  to 
form  and  content,  Dutch  and  German  thoroughness  are 
evident. 

But  excellent  as  the  literature  is  in  many  respects,  it  is  not 
yet  reaching  the  needs  of  Moslems.  ‘‘Some  years  ago  a  care¬ 
ful  survey  was  made  of  the  literature  published  by  the  Malay 
Christian  Union  at  Meester-Cornelis,  and  none  of  their  pub¬ 
lications  were  found  to  be  suitable  for  use  amongst  Moslems, 
even  if  reprinted  in  the  Arabic  character.”  ^  When  the  Malay 
language  is  used,  it  is  printed  in  Romanised  character  as  a 
matter  of  deliberate  policy.  So  far  then,  the  work  of  the 
Dutch  literature  societies  has  been  rather  to  train  the  converts 
won,  and  to  build  an  effective  barrier  against  the  spread  of 
Islam,  than  to  reach  the  Moslem  mind. 

Such  beginnings  as  have  been  made  in  special  apologetic 
for  Moslems  have  been  chiefly  through  the  Press  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  Mr.  Shellabear  writes : 
“Singapore  seems  to  be  the  centre  of  the  Mohammedan 
literary  propaganda  for  the  Dutch  Indies  as  well  as  for  the 
British  area,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  other 
place  in  Malaysia  where  so  many  Malay  books,  pamphlets  and 
newspapers  in  the  Arabic  character  are  being  printed  and 
published.” 

“Although  the  Roman  character  is  taught  in  the  British 
(as  in  the  Dutch)  vernacular  schools,  the  Moslem  Malays 
dislike  it,  and  very  much  prefer  to  read  their  own  language  in 
the  Arabic  character.  The  Bible  Society  sold,  in  one  year, 
more  than  10,000  Scriptures  in  Arabic  Malay,  and  the  Press 
in  Singapore  has  deliberately  chosen  to  print  its  apologetic 
tracts  in  Arabic  script,  though  the  Roman  may  be  used  for 
books  for  the  Christian  community. 

Christian  literature  in  the  Malay  language  then,  so  far,  has 
made  a  start  in  two  directions : 

(i)  For  the  mixed  groups,  such  as  the  mixed  races  who 

^  W.  G.  Shellabear.  The  Moslem  World,  October,  1919. 

[142] 


MALAYSIA  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 

speak  “Low  Malay”  in  Java,  or  the  Chinese  who  speak  “Baba 
Malay”  in  British  territory,  the  beginnings  have  been  made 
of  a  literature  for  Church  and  home.  There  are  hymnbooks, 
first  efforts  at  stories  and  biographies  from  the  Bible.  “The 
Pilgrim’s  Progress,”  “Stories  of  Queen  Victoria,”  “Florence 
Nightingale,”  “Black  Beauty.”  These  things  as  yet  can  be 
counted  on  the  fingers  and  the  hunger  is  great. 

(2)  For  the  Moslems  who  demand  “High  Malay” 
printed  in  Arabic  Script,  are  the  beginnings  of  an  apologetic 
literature;  three  controversial  tracts  from  the  Nile  Mission 
Press,  and  two  from  the  Christian  Literature  Society  for 
India.  Three  of  Miss  Trotter’s  parables,  two  sketches  of 
Christian  lives,  and  a  “Pilgrim’s  Progress,”  now,  alas,  out  of 
print,  about  a  dozen  leaflet  tracts,  stories  of  Paul  and  a  life 
of  Joseph,  and  four  or  five  other  evangelistic  booklets  pro¬ 
duced  by  Malaysia  missionaries.  These  are  almost  the  whole 
library  that  we  offer  to  our  Moslem  brothers  in  that  whole 
island  world.  The  readers  are  hungry.  The  Press  has  ade¬ 
quate  plant,  “the  only  limitation  is  financial  as  regards 

THE  PRODUCTION,  AND  LACK  OF  QUALIFIED  MISSIONARIES, 
INDIGENOUS  AND  FOREIGN  TO  DO  THE  WRITING  AND  EDITORIAL 

WORK.^^  Was  there  ever  a  clearer  challenge  to  the  Church? 


IV.  Literature  Needed 

The  greatest  needs  fall  under  two  main  types : 

( I )  First  a  literature  for  the  young,  and  for  home  read- ; 
ing;  a  literature  with  a  warm  human  interest,  giving  the 
message  of  Christ  for  human  life,  without  special  reference 
to  Islamic  tenets. 

“Christian  literature  should  be  expository,  presenting  the 
higher  standards  of  morality  contained  in  the  Bible.  It  should 
not,  however,  be  confined  to  evangelistic  tracts,  sermon  litera¬ 
ture  and  Bible  histories  as  is  the  case  at  present  to  a  great 
extent.  A  more  interesting  style  of  literature,  and  something 
more  up-to-date  is  greatly  needed,  especially  to  reach  readers 
in  the  villages  in  the  interior  of  Java  and  Sumatra,  and  along 

[143] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


the  coasts  and  rivers  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  wherever 
the  British  and  Dutch  Governments  have  vernacular  schools. 
The  outstanding  need  is  for  stories  with  a  high  moral  tone 
for  the  young  people  who  can  read  but  have  no  interesting 
reading  matter.  We  need  stories  with  a  strong  Christian 
influence.” 

(2)  Secondly  a  literature  of  Christian  apology  meeting 
the  special  difflculties  of  the  Malay  Moslem.  “There  is  a 
great  lack  of  literature  adapted  to  dispel  the  misconceptions 
of  the  Moslems  in  regard  to  Christianity.”  Gottfried  Simon, 
in  his  great  book  “The  Progress  and  Arrest  of  Islam  in  Su¬ 
matra,”  pictured  for  the  Church  how  Christianity  looks  to  the 
animist-turned-Moslem  in  the  land  of  perpetual  summer.  The 
difficulties  that  weigh  with  him  form  a  challenge  to  the  penmen 
of  Christ.  Here  are  some  of  them :  ^ 

“The  heathen-Mohammedan  has  always  heard  the  Chris¬ 
tian  described  as  an  infidel.  The  Christian  is  represented  to 
him  as  unclean.  Christianity  is  said  to  be  out  of  date  because 
Islam  is  the  more  recent  revelation.  It  is  set  forth  also  as  a 
false  doctrine;  for  example  its  Trinitarian  teachings  are  rep¬ 
resented  as  polytheistic.  It  is  reproached  for  having  no  'Urn. 
For  while  the  word  ‘magic’  may  carry  a  note  of  reproach  to 
our  ears,  it  represents  to  the  Moslem  a  learning  and  knowledge 
that  is  supramundane,  and  to  the  sometime  animist  the  most 
vital  force  in  religion.  Christianity  is  also  a  religion  identified 
with  foreigners,  a  foreign  religion.  The  eschatological  sig¬ 
nificance  of  the  reproach  is  full  of  dread,  for  animism  and 
Islam  unite  in  projecting  into  the  next  world  all  the  invidious 
distinctions  of  race  of  the  present  life;  one  would  thus  be 
cut  off  from  his  ancestors.  Furthermore  the  current  impres¬ 
sion  everywhere  is  that  Islam  is  the  winning  religion.” 

Here  then  is  a  challenge  to  Christian  thinkers  with  the 
teacher’s  gift,  who  shall  prepare  the  defence  of  their  Master 
against  the  misconceptions  of  this  half-animist  half-Moslem 
world.  It  is  possible  that  a  simple  apologetic  planned  for  this 

"  Summariied  from  an  article  by  Dr.  C.  R.  Watson  in  The  Moslem 
World,  April,  1913. 

[144] 


MALAYSIA  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES 


island  world  may  be  of  use  also  along  all  the  marches  where 
Islam  is  superimposed  on  animism. 

THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 

At  the  moment  in  the  world’s  history  when,  in  the  west, 
Constantinople  fell  to  the  Turks,  Islam  established  herself 
in  her  most  easterly  kingdom,  among  the  people  of  the  Sulu 
Archipelago  and  the  Moros,  the  dreaded  Malay  pirates  who 
harried  the  Philippines.  “Previously,  the  islanders  wor¬ 
shipped  idols  and  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  devoured  pigs, 
rats  and  snakes.  Now,  while  they  read  and  revere  the  Koran, 
they  understand  very  few  words,  and  the  Koran  has  not  been 
translated  into  the  dialect.”  (R.  T.  McCutchen).  Literacy 
is  steadily  increasing,  but  there  is  hardly  any  reading  matter. 
There  are  some  old  manuscripts  which  are  a  medley  of  magic 
and  quotations  and  the  Koran.  The  Mohammedanism  of  the 
Philippines,  like  that  throughout  Malaysia,  seems  to  be  strong 
in  the  magic  element. 

The  first  Christian  literature  for  these  late-born  Moslems 
was  made  by  the  Jesuits  in  Jolo,  who  translated  and  distributed 
the  Catechism  in  the  middle  of  the  i8th  century. 

In  addition  to  the  educational  work  of  the  American  Gov¬ 
ernment,  Bishop  Brent  included  Christian  literature  among 
the  tasks  of  his  mission  to  the  islands.  He  founded  at 
Zamboanga  a  printing  press  operated  by  Moro  boys.  Besides 
New  Testament  translations  in  Sulu  this  press  publishes  a 
monthly  newspaper,  the  Surat  Habar  Sing  Sug.  It  en¬ 
deavours  to  give  the  news  of  the  world  in  a  form  that  would 
be  interesting  to  the  Moslems  together  with  some  simple 
Christian  teaching. 


[145] 


Chapter  VIII 


LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS  IN  CHINA 

Missionaries  report  that  the  use  of  Arabic  litera¬ 
ture  has  opened  the  door  to  the  personal  touch  with 
mullahs  with  whom  previously  they  had  no  point  of 
contact.  Requests  have  been  received  for  copies  of 
any  new  Christian  publications  in  Arabic,  and  ap¬ 
plications  for  grants  of  such  as  were  already  avail¬ 
able.  Manuscripts  in  Arabic,  the  work  of  Chinese 
mullahs,  have  been  received  and  forwarded  to  Cairo 
for  suitable  reply.  Some  of  these  have  dealt  trench¬ 
antly  with  Christian  belief  and  required  very  carefid 
answering.  The  testimony  of  friends  in  Egypt, 
authorities  in  Arabic,  should  be  noted:  ‘^The  manu¬ 
scripts  are  ably  prepared  and  well  written — ‘‘The 
Christian  Occupation  of  China,”  1922. 

There  are  as  many  Moslems  in  China  as  in  Turkey  or 
Persia.  They  are  long-standing  members  of  the  community, 
looking  back,  some  say,  to  invasions  from  Bokhara  which 
first  introduced  Islam  in  the  west,  about  1070.  Islam  is  also 
said  to  have  entered  Canton  by  sea  at  an  even  earlier  date ;  but 
its  main  progress  was  always  in  the  west.  The  two  chief 
centres  of  the  Moslem  faith  in  China  are  the  western 
provinces  of  Yunnan  on  the  south  and  Kansu  on  the  north, 
while,  between  them,  the  great  Szechuan  province  has  many 
Moslem  communities.  These  provinces  of  the  marches  are 
linked  up  by  ancient  trade-routes  with  the  whole  Moslem 
world  of  Central  Asia.  Across  the  continent  come  teachers 
with  Arabic  or  Persian  books  in  their  saddle-bags,  and  these 
find  pupils  in  the  Chinese  mosques. 

Not  only  in  the  western  provinces,  their  main  habitat,  are 
the  Chinese  Moslems  found,  but  in  the  capital  their  mosques 
[146] 


[147] 


MOSLEMS  IN  CHINA 


have  been  reckoned  at  32,  most  of  which  have  a  mullah  or 
“ahong”  able  to  read  at  least  the  Koran  in  Arabic.  We  were 
told  at  one  time  of  a  Turk,  an  ex-student  of  El-Azhar,  who 
had  a  school  of  Arabic  studies  in  Peking.  Even  among  the 
Chinese  under  Japanese  rule  in  Formosa  a  few  Moslems  may 
be  found. 

But  it  is  in  the  western  provinces  that  the  Moslems  live 
their  own  life,  never  forgetting  that  the  Chinese  among  whom 
they  have  their  home  are  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of 
the  true  faith.  They  never  give  their  daughters  to  the  un¬ 
believer,  but  they  sometimes  take  Chinese  girl  children  into 
their  homes,  that  they  may  become  Moslem.  They  are  not  a 
comfortable  element  in  Chinese  life,  for  as  Mr.  Hutson  of 
Szechuan  writes,  ‘Hhe  Moslem  still  regards  himself  as  be¬ 
longing  to  an  alien  people,  and  as  superior  to  his  Chinese 
neighbour.  He  is  a  religious  fanatic,  tempered  and  mellowed 
by  an  adverse  environment.  The  Chinese  hate  the  Moslems 
as  turbulent  and  truculent  foes.  The  Moslems  in  return 
despise  the  Chinese  as  inferior  in  race  and  religion.  The 
Chinese  have  humbled  but  not  subjected  the  Moslems;  they 
still  possess  a  superabundance  of  energy  and  abnormal  as¬ 
pirations.” 

Some  of  these  aspirations  have  of  late  pushed  them 
towards  a  reform  movement  and  there  is  much  talk  among 
them  of  the  “old  religion”  and  the  “new.”  The  Chinese 
report  says : 

“There  is  a  distinct  movement  towards  reform  amongst 
Moslems  in  China  at  present.  This  looks  to  the  conservation 
of  Islam,  but  yet  it  gives  to  the  Moslem  mind  a  measure  of 
receptivity  to  new  truth.” 

One  sign  of  the  movement  has  been  a  plan  to  translate  the 
Koran  (“The  Heavenly  Classic”)  into  Chinese.  Chinese 
Moslems  had  possessed  it  in  Arabic  for  nearly  1000  years 
before  they  were  piqued  by  European  activity  to  translate  it 
for  their  own  people.  “Foreigners  have  translated  the  Koran 
into  English,  German,  French,  etc.,”  they  said.  “Must  we 
say  that  there  are  no  Chinese  to  do  it?”  Societies  such  as  the 
Moslem  Young  Men’s  Association  produce  Moslem  literature 
[148] 


MOSLEMS  IN  CHINA 


in  Shanghai  which  circulates  as  far  as  Turkestan.  All  such 
movements  tend  to  do  away  with  the  past  blind  acceptance  of 
the  work  of  Liu  Chi,  a  Chinese  scholar  of  Arabic  descent, 
who  used  seventy  Arabic  works  in  preparing  his  compilations 
(A  Life  of  the  Prophet,  etc.)  which  have  been  the  standard 
Moslem  works  of  China  for  two  centuries.^  The  new  re¬ 
form  movements  give  hope  of  greater  open-mindedness  in  a 
people  whom  western  missionaries  have  found  personally 
friendly, — as  to  fellow  aliens  and  fellow  foes  of  idolatry, — 
but  utterly  supercilious  to  the  message  of  the  gospel. 


/.  Existing  Christian  Literature 

There  are  perhaps  six  missionaries  in  China  set  apart  for 
work  among  the  eight  million  Moslems,  and  behind  these  is  a 
Committee  of  the  National  Christian  Council,  whose  business 
is  to  provide  the  necessary  literature,  help  and  encouragement 
for  the  handful  of  men  who  are  facing  this  peculiarly  difficult 
task.  It  is  worthy  of  note  by  other  countries  that  four  full 
members  of  this  Committee  are  Chinese.  In  the  general 
Christian  Literature  Committee  for  all  China  the  rule  has 
been  adopted  that  half  the  members  must  be  Chinese. 

The  committee  did  not  come  into  being  until  isolated  work¬ 
ers  had  tried  to  meet  the  need.  At  first  tracts  in  Arabic  were 
procured  from  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  Egypt,  and  are  still 
used  for  such  as  can  read  that  language ;  then  tracts  in 
Chinese  were  composed  or  translated  by  the  Rev.  F.  E. 
Rhodes,  and  several  other  missionaries,  while  a  Chinese  pastor 
in  Kansu  issued  a  booklet  in  rhyme. 

On  the  formation  of  the  committee  it  was  found  that  a 
good  deal  of  preparatory  work  was  still  necessary.  The 
Moslem  community  had  adopted  a  whole  vocabulary  of  re¬ 
ligious  terms,  many  of  them  transliterations  from  Arabic  and 
Persian,  and  quite  unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  Chinese.  To 
use  the  terms  adopted  by  the  Chinese  Christian  Church  was 
to  be  at  once  unintelligible  and  offensive  to  the  Moslem.  Ac- 
^  See  list  of  these  works  Chinese  Recorder,  October,  1917. 

[149] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


cordingly  it  was  necessary  to  collect  the  Moslem  vocabulary 
of  China,  as  a  preliminary  to  writing  further  literature.  A 
List  of  Chinese  Moslem  Terms  has  been  prepared  by  the  Rev. 
I.  Mason,  with  a  vocabulary  of  important  religious  terms  and 
also  transliterations  from  Arabic  used  by  the  Chinese  for 
the  names  of  saints  or  prophets  or  the  “Names  of  God.” 

The  Committee  also  found  that  the  Chinese  Church,  and 
the  missionary  body,  whose  attention  was  absorbed  by  the 
other  religions  of  China  with  their  overwhelming  numbers, 
were  to  a  great  extent  ignorant  of  the  needs  of  Chinese 
Moslems,  and  how  to  help  them.  The  Committee  therefore 
arranged  for  the  publication  of  a  small  primer  on  Islam  by  Dr. 
Zwemer,  dedicated  to  the  Church  of  Christ  in  China.  The 
Rev.  I.  Mason  also  wrote  a  Life  of  Mohammed  in  Chinese,  a 
summary  of  the  material  found  in  standard  works.  This  was 
intended  both  for  the  education  of  the  Christian  Church,  and 
also  to  give  Moslems  in  China  a  more  correct  and  historic 
view  of  the  Prophet  than  that  found  in  the  miraculous  life 
written  by  Liu  Chi,  two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  available  literature  now  published  consists  of  some 
two  books  of  over  fifty  pages,  and  about  forty  tracts  of  smaller 
size,  besides  Scripture  portions  for  free  distribution.  A 
bi-lingual  form,  Arabic-Chinese,  is  sometimes  used  effectively 
for  people  who  reverence  Arabic  as  their  religious  tongue,  but 
do  not  read  it  with  much  understanding.  The  literature  so  far 
provided  is  almost  entirely  translation,  preference  being  given 
to  material  in  narrative  form,  like  Sweet  First  Fruits  and 
Riches  that  fail  not,  Ghulam  JahbaFs  Renunciation,  and  Miss 
Trotter’s  parables.  Syria,  India,  and  North  Africa  have  thus 
contributed  to  China.  But  translation  has  not  been  slavish. 
The  effort  has  been  to  make  the  books  Chinese.  Thus  when 
Mr.  Goldsack’s  God  in  Islam  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  D. 
McGillivray,  comments  were  added  at  the  end  of  each  chapter, 
by  one  of  the  committee’s  critics.  In  this  way  Mr.  Ma 
Tang-po,  who  was  once  himself  a  Moslem,  has  given  his  own 
personal  testimony  regarding  the  subject  of  each  chapter. 
This  has  made  the  book  much  more  than  a  translation,  for  it 
now  contains  an  original  record  of  Chinese  experience. 

[150] 


MOSLEMS  IN  CHINA 


In  an  artistic  country  a  beginning  has  been  made  to  utilise 
eye-gate.  A  poster  on  the  “The  Light  of  the  World”  has  been 
designed.  Bookmarkers  in  Arabic  and  Chinese,  with  Scrip¬ 
ture  texts  in  fine  penmanship  on  blue  and  pink  paper  have  also 
been  issued. 


11.  Literature  Needed 

After  a  few  years  of  experience,  the  committee  feels  that 
it  is  only  at  the  beginning  of  its  task.  It  desires  close  co¬ 
operation  with  workers  in  other  lands;  Arabic  and  Persian 
literature  it  can  use  among  the  teachers  and  religious  leaders. 
Copies  of  the  Arabic  evangelistic  magazine,  Beshair  es  Salam 
circulate  in  the  west.  Such  opportunities  are  found  chiefly 
in  Kansu  and  Sinkiang,  where  the  work  of  the  Chinese  Com¬ 
mittee  for  Moslem  Work  joins  hands  with  the  work  of  the 
Swedish  Mission  for  the  Moslems  whose  language  is  Sart 
Turki  or  Qazaq.  (See  chapter  IV,  Literature  for  Turanian 
Moslems).  The  committee  is  anxious  to  secure  English 
originals  of  work  written  for  the  Moslems  of  other  countries, 
for  translation  or  adaptation,  and  on  this  side  of  its  work  it 
looks  forward  to  the  help  of  some  central  bureau. 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  committee  to  publish  a  gen¬ 
eral  Christian  literature.  In  Moslem  countries  where  there  is 
no  other  Christian  press,  that  cannot  be  neglected.  But 
in  China,  once  the  prejudice  against  Christian  terms  and 
Christian  thought  is  broken  down,  the  Moslem  can  share  the 
general  Christian  literature  of  the  country.  The  recent 
Chinese  Literary  Survey  shows  that  this  now  consists  (as  far 
as  the  Protestant  Churches  are  concerned)  of  ii88  books  and 
1152  booklets,  of  which  it  is  reckoned  that  seventy  per  cent 
are  living  and  selling.  Even  when  allowance  is  made  for 
works  in  varying  dialects,  and  for  a  large  number  of  denomi¬ 
national  hymnbooks  and  catechisms  (these  last  number  eighty- 
one!)  of  only  local  circulation,  it  is  yet  manifest  that  the  new 
Christian  in  China  is  better  off  than  his  brother  in  many 

[151] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


lands,  as  regards  books  to  guide  him  in  Christian  thought  and 
practice. 

The  committee  for  work  among  Moslems  has  preparatory 
work  to  do  for  those  Moslems  who  are  not  in  a  position  to 
understand  the  terminology  in  Christian  books,  and  who  will 
only  be  insulted  if  offered  the  Christian  apologetic  provided 
for  their  “idolatrous”  neighbours.  One  missionary  of  ex¬ 
perience  suggests  that  a  special  edition  of  some  of  the  books 
of  the  Bible  might  be  prepared  for  Moslems  in  China,  since 
some  of  the  terms  in  the  Chinese  Bible  translation  are  very 
offensive  to  Moslems.  Whether  or  no  a  fresh  version  is 
necessary,  there  is  at  least  the  need  for  an  edition,  with  simple 
comments,  explaining  offensive  terms.  Another  writes  “I  am 
of  opinion  that  Moslem  women  and  children  are  the  most 
neglected  class  in  the  Szechuan  province.”  For  these  women, 
usually  kept  in  stricter  seclusion  than  their  Chinese  sisters,  the 
only  specially  prepared  literature  is  a  catechism  of  thirty  pages 
in  the  very  simplest  language. 

Another  writes,  “We  need  something  to  help  Moslems  to 
realise  that  true  religion  is  not  simply  a  creed  or  ceremonial, 
but  a  devout  life,  lived  in  humble  dependence  upon  God  as 
revealed  to  us  in  Jesus  Christ.” 

The  China  committee  of  the  present  Survey  gives  the  whole 
situation  in  a  poignant  paragraph : 

“To  sum  up,  there  are  some  8,000,000  Moslems  in  China 
and  not  more  than  six  missionaries  devoting  their  full  time 
to  the  work.  That  is,  amongst  a  population  larger  than  Lon¬ 
don  or  New  York  there  are  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  Chris¬ 
tian  workers.  This  sufficiently  indicates  the  need  for  more 
work  being  done  for  Moslems  in  China.  A  glance  at  the  table 
of  literature  issued  for  Moslems  shows  that  less  than  one 
dollar  would  purchase  a  copy  of  every  book  issued  for 
Moslems  in  China.  This  sufficiently  indicates  the  need  for 
the  preparation  of  more  literature.” 


Chapter  IX 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS 
IN  AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 

Never  before  has  the  crisis  been  so  acute.  The 
Moslem  advcmce  in  Africa  is  so  extensive,  so  con¬ 
stant,  and  so  rapid  that  the  speedy  evangelisation  of 
the  pagan  people  there  is  the  most  urgent  work  upon 
which  the  Church  is  now  invited  to  enter.  If  it  is 
not  done  without  delay,  large  parts  of  Africa  will 
be  almost  irretrievably  lost,  for  her  teeming  millions 
will  have  entered  into  the  fold  of  Islam. — Rev. 
Canon  E.  Sell,  D.D.,  of  Madras. 

The  reports  of  the  survey  dealing  with  African  areas  differ 
from  all  the  rest.  While  they  cover  a  greater  number  of 
languages  they  report  on  far  fewer  books.  And  they  raise 
certain  questions  of  book  production,  which  although  felt 
elsewhere,  here  assume  their  acutest  form. 

The  great  difficulty  of  Christian  literature,  as  of  all  evangel¬ 
isation  in  Africa,  has  been  called  “The  Problem  of  a  Thousand 
Tribes.”  The  phrase  is  no  exaggeration.  “Between  the  Red 
Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,”  writes  Mr.  W.  J.  W.  Roome, 
“and  on  to  Senegal  there  must  be  some  thousand  tribes  or  sub¬ 
tribes  within  the  three  catalogues  of  “Moslem,”  “Semi- 
Moslem”  and  “Raw-Pagan.”  Impossible  to  build  a  Christian 
literature  for  the  dialect  of  every  tribelet!  On  what  basis, 
then,  shall  the  selection  be  made,  of  those  African  languages 
which  are  to  have  an  artificial  aid  to  survival  and  dominance 
by  becoming  the  language  of  never  so  simple  an  education  and 
a  literature?  Humanly  speaking,  on  the  answer  to  such  a 
question  hang  the  spiritual  destinies  of  Africa. 

In  the  history  of  literature  the  first  primer  and  hymnbook 

C153] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


for  an  African  tribe  may  be  a  thing  of  naught.  In  the  spir¬ 
itual  history  of  mankind  it  may  be  momentous;  for  the  study 
of  little  languages  which  have  no  literary  history,  and  no 
prospect  of  making  literary  history,  takes  on  a  spiritual  sig¬ 
nificance,  when  just  such  little  tongues  may  be  either  the 
growing  points  of  Islam  or  the  points  of  its  arrest. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  present  survey,  those 
African  languages  take  precedence  which  have  become  Moslem 
tongues,  or  which  are  so  situated  that  their  Christianisation 
would  make  them  barrier  languages,  stemming  the  spread  of 
Islam  among  the  pagan  tribes.  It  is  necessary  then  to  enquire 
what  language  areas  are  at  present  acting  as  canals  to  conduct 
Islam  further  and  yet  further  into  Africa.  For  we  have  here 
one  of  the  great  movements  of  the  age,  as  wide  as  a  continent, 
yet  so  incoherent  and  well-nigh  unconscious  as  to  win  scant 
attention. 


1.  Swahili  Districts 

Starting  from  the  East  Coast,  at  any  point  between  Mo¬ 
zambique  on  the  south  and  Italian  Somaliland  on  the  north, 
we  find  Swahili  ^  in  possession,  the  lingua  franca  of  the  coast 
towns.  This  is  by  far  the  most  widely  flung  of  the  languages 
related  to  the  Bantu  stock.  It  has  travelled  up  all  the  slave 
routes  of  the  past  and  all  the  railways  of  to-day,  and  is  found 
as  far  inland  as  the  Belgian  Congo  among  natives  who  have 
come  under  Arab  influence.  The  Moslems  of  the  Comoro 
Islands  and  many  of  those  of  Madagascar  also  use  this  speech. 
In  phonetics  and  grammar  it  is  Bantu,  but  permeated  with 
Arabic  terms  and  thought,  and  laden  besides  with  Indian  and 
Portuguese  and  even  with  German  and  English  words.  On 
the  eastern  side  of  Africa,  the  Swahili  tongue  of  the  Arab  or 
Indian  trader,  and  the  advance  of  Islam  have  gone  together. 
With  Swahili,  too,  goes  the  Arabic  alphabet,  though  it  is  not 
certain  how  long  these  have  been  wedded,  and  the  marriage 
is  unhappy,  the  Latin  alphabet  being  fitter  for  Swahili 

^  From  the  Arabic  word  for  “Coast  Dwellers.” 

[154] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


phonetics.  Miss  Alice  Werner  tells  us  that  no  Swahili  manu¬ 
scripts  of  more  than  a  century  old  have  come  to  light,  though 
some  of  the  poetry  of  the  language  dates  back  many  centuries, 
the  Inkishafi  being  certainly  earlier  than  the  advent  of  the 
Portuguese  in  1498. 

Swahili  has  never  been  the  language  of  a  great  printed 
literature,  but  it  has  a  mass  of  the  stuff  of  literature  in  a  great 
body  of  popular  verse.  “Much  of  this,”  says  Miss  Werner, 
“was  once  written,  and  fresh  manuscripts  are  continually  being 
brought  to  light.  But  much  of  it  is  oral,  being  either  handed 
down  by  tradition  or  continually  produced  afresh;  for  song 
and  improvisation  are  as  much  a  part  of  the  people’s  life  as 
they  used  to  be  in  Italy.  Most  of  the  popular  poetry  and  all 
the  written  poetry  differs  from  that  of  the  non-Islamised 
Bantu  by  possessing  a  distinct  system  of  rhyme  and  metre.” 

This  language,  “the  spear-head  of  Islam”  in  Africa,  has 
from  early  days  challenged  the  attention  of  missionaries.  The 
first  Swahili  dictionary  was  written  by  Dr.  Krapf  of  the 
C.M.S.  Bishop  Steere  of  the  Universities’  Mission  wrote  the 
first  grammatical  exercises  for  language  students;  and  since 
his  day  a  library  of  about  55  Christian  books  has  come  into 
existence  through  missionary  scholarship.  “It  is  a  triumph,” 
it  has  been  said,  “to  be  able  to  express  in  a  Bantu  language 
‘subjunctive  mood’  or  ‘division  by  factors,’  and  still  more  of  a 
triumph  to  use  exact  theological  terms.”  As  compared  with 
other  African  languages  this  output  of  books  is  remarkable, 
and  places  Swahili  as  the  fourth  literary  language  of  the  con¬ 
tinent,  European  languages  and  Arabic  being  excluded. 

But  when  spread  over  all  the  purposes  for  which  the 
Christian  Church  needs  books,  a  total  of  fifty-five  is  scanty 
enough.  The  literature  produced  has  been  chiefly  for  the 
education  of  the  growing  Church  and  the  training  of  African 
students  for  the  Christian  ministry.  A  diocesan  magazine 
Lenga  gua  is  edited  in  this  language,  and  last  year  a  new 
Commentary  on  Romans  appeared,  while  one  of  the  last  books 
published  is  a  Commentary  on  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Several  books  have  been  written  to 
inform  the  Christian  Church  in  this  part  of  Moslem  Africa 

[155] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


about  the  nature  of  Islam.  They  include  a  Life  of  Mohammed 
by  Canon  Dale,  and  a  little  book  of  Information  about  Arabs 
and  M ohamme danism.  To  these  may  soon  be  added  a  Swahili 
version  of  the  Koran  by  Canon  Dale  of  Zanzibar.  Christian 
hymns  in  Swahili  have  been  found  a  powerful  evangelistic 
force,  but  no  Christian  poet  has  arisen  to  write  the  Gospel 
stories  in  the  type  of  popular  verse  in  which  most  of  the 
Moslem  literature  is  composed.  It  is  thought  that  a  special 
issue  for  Moslems  of  the  book  of  Proverbs  in  Swahili  might 
have  great  appeal.  At  a  conference  held  at  Dar-Es-Salam 
by  missionaries  in  East  Africa  just  before  the  war,  to  consider 
Moslem  evangelisation,  the  creation  of  a  strong  Swahili  lit¬ 
erature  was  considered  an  imperative  necessity.  The  Berlin 
Mission  began  the  circulation  of  a  Swahili  magazine  in 
German  East  Africa,  where  no  district  is  untouched  by  Islam. 
These  things  all  await  fulfilment. 


II.  Yao  and  Nyanja  Districts 

Coast-men  and  native  officials  have  carried  Islam  all 
through  Yaoland  as  far  as  the  south  and  east  of  Lake  Nyassa. 
The  Yaos,  one  of  the  most  powerful  tribes  east  of  the  Lakes 
have  practically  adopted  Islam  as  their  religion.  “There  is  in 
almost  every  village,”  writes  a  missionary,  “a  mosque  or  a 
Moslem  teacher.  These,  if  foreign,  marry  native  women. 
There  are  perhaps  half  a  dozen  men  in  the  country  who  can 
read  the  Koran  intelligently  and  explain  to  the  people  the 
meaning  of  the  Arabic  texts.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are 
hundreds  of  Moslems  who  have  their  own  copies  of  the 
Koran,  and  can  read  them  too,  but  understand  next  to  nothing 
of  what  they  read.”  It  is  reckoned  that  one  out  of  every  ten 
of  the  people  between  the  coast  and  Lakes  Nyassa  and  Shirwa 
is  a  Moslem,  while  Islam  also  wheels  round  to  south  of  Lake 
Nyassa  and  extends  up  to  Kota  Kota,  which  was  of  old  noted 
as  a  slave  export  place,  and  is  now  a  Moslem  centre. 

The  strongest  barrier  against  further  penetration  of  the 
continent  by  Islam  in  this  direction  is  the  Christian  life  of  the 

[156] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


tribes  connected  with  the  Scottish  missions  south  and  west  of 
the  Lake.  For  reading  matter  to  reach  the  few  illiterate 
Moslems  of  these  parts,  or  to  help  the  African  Church  to 
reach  them,  the  two  most  important  languages  are  Nyanja 
and  Yao.  Nyanja  is  one  of  the  progressives  among  African 
languages,  with  a  printed  literature  of  forty  volumes,  one  of 
which  deals  definitely  with  Islam.  Yao  has  importance  as  the 
language  of  the  dominant  Moslem  tribe.  “We  accept  it  as 
good  policy,”  writes  a  missionary,  “that  if  possible  literature 
concerning  Islam  should  be  in  Yao.”  The  mission  of  the 
South  African  Dutch  Reformed  Church  is  now  setting  apart 
one  worker  who  shall  make  the  Moslems  of  Nyassaland 
(numbering  perhaps  75,000)  his  care  and  prepare  the  neces¬ 
sary  literature. 

III.  U ganda 

Luganda  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  barrier  languages 
to  the  spread  of  Islam,  having  become  the  speech  of  a  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church  which  throws  out  missions  among 
the  surrounding  animistic  tribes  of  mountain  and  forest  and 
into  the  valley  of  the  infant  Nile, — tribes  often  differing  from 
the  Baganda  missionaries  at  least  as  much  as  the  southern 
Europeans  differ  from  the  Dutch  or  Danes. 

Luganda  has  a  Christian  literature  of  over  sixty  books,  an 
unusually  generous  supply  for  an  African  language.  “Some 
of  them,”  says  the  report,  “are  very  good  indeed.”  One  of 
the  earliest  books  published  in  Luganda  bears  witness  to  the 
fact  that  the  pioneer  missionaries  had  to  meet  Moslem  oppo¬ 
sition  ;  for  the  Arab  trader  was  already  in  the  land  and  showed 
himself  uniformly  hostile  to  the  Christian  advance.  This  is 
George  Pilkington’s  Anonya  Alaba,  (“He  who  seeketh 
findeth”)  which  contains  one  or  two  chapters  for  Moslems  in 
a  sympathetic  controversial  style. 

The  last  books  published  were  one  by  Dr.  A.  R.  Cook  on 
venereal  disease  and  one  by  Archdeacon  Baskerville  on 
Levitical  sacrifices. 


[157] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


The  78,000  Moslems  of  Uganda  to-day  are  of  two  types 
prevalent  all  over  East  Africa, — traders  of  foreign  or  partly 
foreign  birth,  and  converts  of  pure  African  pagan  stock.  For 
the  first,  Swahili  literature  (and  sometimes  even  literature  in 
Arabic  or  in  Indian  languages)  is  needed.  The  second  are  as 
ignorant  as  their  pagan  neighbours.  Probably  less  than  one 
per  cent  of  them  can  read  any  Arabic  at  all.  Their  thought- 
world  has  not  changed  with  their  conversion  to  Islam,  and 
missionary  experience  shows  that  those  who  can  be  persuaded 
to  read  need  just  the  same  instruction  as  their  brothers  from 
the  animistic  cults.  At  Mengo  hospital,  in  a  district  con¬ 
taining  41,500  Moslems,  where  baptisms  of  Moslem  patients 
are  not  infrequent,  the  Moslems  share  the  same  course  of 
teaching  and  the  same  mateka  (reader)  with  the  rest. 


IV.  A  byssinia 

From  the  time  when  the  first  fifty  Moslem  converts  fled 
for  refuge  to  Abyssinia  the  Christian  Church  of  that  country, 
then  three  centuries  old,  has  had  a  strange,  dark  history  of 
struggle,  in  almost  complete  isolation  from  the  thought  and 
life  of  the  rest  of  Christendom.  Her  one  close  contact  with 
western  Christendom  was  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the 
Portuguese  rescued  her  empire,  almost  extinguished  by  the 
harrying  of  Moslem  invaders.  The  chapter  of  Portuguese 
Jesuit  missions  that  followed,  convinced  Abyssinia  that  the 
Christians  who  rescued  her  desired  to  subjugate  her  to  another 
Church.  Bitterly  resentful,  she  closed  her  doors  from  that 
day  to  our  own  against  any  outside  form  of  mission  work. 
But  they  were  not  closed  to  Moslem  caravans  collecting  slaves, 
and  she  became  a  passage-way  for  the  African  slave-trade. 
Invasion  and  trade  penetration  have  left  Abyssinia  to-day  with 
a  Moslem  population  equal  to  one  third  of  all  her  people,^  and 
religious  freedom  was  granted  to  her  Moslem  subjects  in  1889. 
These  Ethiopian  Moslems  have  carried  their  faith  beyond  their 

^The  total  population  according  to  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book,  1921, 
is  8,000,000.  Some  have  placed  it  as  high  as  11,000,000. 

[158] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


own  borders.  In  Eritrea  and  the  three  Somalilands,  Gallas 
and  Danakils  from  Abyssinia  are  a  strong  Moslem  influence, 
reaching  indeed  as  far  south  as  Zanzibar. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Coptic  Church,  which  appoints 
the  Abyssinian  Patriarch,  the  rest  of  Christendom  has  until 
recently  been  singularly  powerless  to  help  this  sister  Church, 
situated  closer  than  any  other  to  the  sacred  centre  of  Islam. 
Swedish  and  American  missions  have  long  pressed  up  to  the 
frontier  on  north  and  west;  but  the  old  defensive  bar  against 
Missions  from  outside  has  only  recently  been  lifted  through 
the  mediation  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  whose 
agent  Mr.  C.  T.  Hooper  obtained  the  permission  and  the 
blessing  of  the  Patriarch  for  the  sale  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the 
capital,  in  the  language  of  modern  speech.  This  it  seems,  has 
led  to  something  like  a  rediscovery  of  the  New  Testament 
within  this  ancient  African  Church.  Accounts  are  vague  but 
it  is  said  that  500  teachers  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed,  and  that  the  Church  is  evangelising  Abyssinian 
Moslems,  some  notable  converts  from  Islam  being  among  the 
leaders  of  the  movement.  It  appears  that  this  movement  is 
in  part  due  to  a  political  revolt,  but  it  seems  more  than  merely 
political. 

A  writer  in  The  Moslem  World  says: 

^‘During  recent  years  there  has  been  a  most  encouraging 
religious  movement  in  the  interior  of  Abyssinia,  especially 
among  the  Moslems.  It  is  said  that  about  10,000  have  re¬ 
ceived  Christian  baptism  from  the  Abyssinian  Church  during 
the  last  five  or  six  years.  The  Rev.  J.  J.  Jwarson  of  the 
Swedish  mission  in  Eritrea  says  that  the  centre  of  the  move¬ 
ment  is  at  Sokota  in  the  Amhara  country,  where  the  apostle 
of  the  Christian  movement,  the  ex-sheikh  Zaccaria,  now  called 
Noaye  Kristos,  is  established.  Two  of  his  disciples,  Alaka 
Paulos  of  Tigrai  and  Alaka  Petros  of  Sakota,  also  ex-sheikhs, 
visited  the  Swedish  Mission  recently  to  acquire  copies  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  to  consolidate  their  acquaintance  with 
evangelical  Christians.” 

Another  sign  of  changing  times  is  that  the  American 
(United  Presbyterian)  Mission  has  been  able  to  establish 

[159] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


itself  at  Sayo  and  hopes  to  plant  hospital  work  at  Gore.  This 

pioneer  work  has  not  yet  produced  any  literature  for  the 

Moslems  of  Abyssinia,  but  makes  use  of  the  slender  store  of 

literature  in  Galla  produced  by  the  Swedish  Mission  in  Eritrea. 

The  Swedish  society,  working  on  the  borders  of  Abyssinia, 

has  also  published  in  Amharic  commentaries  on  St.  Matthew 

and  St.  John,  together  with  three  books  of  simple  Bible  stories 

or  instruction,  two  short  general  histories,  a  book  of  psalms 

with  tunes,  and  half  a  dozen  tracts. 

> 


V.  T he  Egyptian  Sudan  and  Belgian  C ongo 

From  Abyssinia,  starting  out  to  cross  the  continent  from 
east  to  west,  we  reach  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  and  here  at  once 
we  face  “the  problem  of  the  thousand  tribes.”  Over  this  vast 
territory  the  population  of  nearly  three  and  a  half  million  is 
spread  at  an  average  of  only  two  or  three  to  the  square  mile. 
Here  the  loth  parallel  of  latitude  forms  a  vague  border  line  be¬ 
tween  the  Arabic  language  with  its  enormous  literary  and  Mos¬ 
lem  prestige,  and  the  little  tongues  of  the  yet  pagan  tribes.  El 
Fasher  has  been  called  “one  of  the  most  cosmopolitan  towns 
of  native  Africa,”  but  amid  its  motley  crowds  the  Arab  race 
and  Arab  tongue  prevails,  and  the  tendency  is  for  the  Nile, 
with  the  steady  transport  secured  by  British  rule,  to  act  as  a 
great  canal  along  which  Arabic  and  Islam  may  press  together. 
As  far  as  Arabic  is  concerned,  the  Sudan  looks  to  Egypt  for 
her  literature.  Egyptian  newspapers  find  circulation  there, 
and  so,  with  careful  co-operation  may  Arabic  Christian  litera¬ 
ture.  But  “the  missionaries,”  says  the  report,  “unanimously 
deprecate  teaching  Arabic  to  the  pagan  tribes,  as  it  is  the 
medium  for  Moslem  propaganda.”  “We  emphasize,”  the 
report  continues,  “the  importance  of  reducing  some  of  the 
pagan  languages  to  writing.  It  is  the  judgment  of  some  mis¬ 
sionaries  working  in  Swahili  districts  that  if  this  were  done  in 
phonetic  alphabet,  rather  than  in  the  Arabic  script,  it  would 
raise  a  double  barrier  against  Islam.  Such  literature  if  of  a 
simple  and  attractive  character  would  be  of  great  value.”  This 
[i6o] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


then  is  the  literary  task  of  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan,  and 
the  pioneer  missions  have  taken  it  in  hand.  Shulla  (spoken  by 
approximately  800,000),  Dinka  (spoken  by  about  the  same 
number)  and  Nuer  (about  900,000)  are  being  reduced  to 
writing,  and  Gospels  have  already  been  printed.  The  Bari 
and  Acholi  languages  are  also  being  studied. 

These  isolated  missions  in  the  Sudan,  pushing  southwards 
to  meet  the  Christian  outposts  pushing  northwards  from 
Uganda,  form,  (with  the  stations  of  the  Heart  of  Africa 
Mission  working  upwards  from  the  Belgian  Congo,)  the 
thinnest  of  thin  barriers,  measured  by  human  standards, 
against  the  steady  southward  spread  of  Islam  among  the  pagan 
tribes.  And  in  a  sense  the  barrier  is  built  too  late,  for  just 
beyond  it,  on  the  south,  lies  Stanleyville,  and  here,  having 
worked  their  way  down  the  lower  waters  of  the  Lualaba  on 
the  line  of  trade  from  Tanganyika,  is  a  settlement  of  perhaps 
50,000  Moslems.  These  Moslems  of  the  Belgian  Congo  show 
their  kinship  with  their  brethren  of  the  East  Coastal  regions 
by  speaking  a  language  which  is  a  local  version  of  Swahili. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Roome  regards  this  Kingwana  language  as  fourth 
of  all  the  East  African  tongues  in  importance  for  those  who 
would  make  a  literature  that  shall  reach  Moslems.  Nothing 
has  yet  been  done. 


VI.  The  Shari-Chad  Protectorate  (IVadai) 

West  of  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  and  presenting  many  of  the 
same  administrative  difficulties,  is  the  great  Shari-Chad  pro¬ 
tectorate  of  France,  with  the  same  scant  population  of  two  or 
three  to  the  square  mile.  “Here,”  writes  Mr.  Roome,  “the 
pagans  are  largely  holding  out  against  Islam  and  it  appears 
that  the  Government  would  welcome  Christian  missions 
among  their  five  million  people.”  There  is  not  as  yet  any 
Christian  missionary  in  the  protectorate.  But  just  as  the 
Nile  Valley,  under  British  security,  became  more  than  ever  a 
canal  for  the  peaceful  penetration  of  Islam,  so,  under  French 
protection,  the  valley  of  the  Shari  has  become  such  another 

[161] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


canal.  A  settled  stream  of  Islam  passes 'down,  connecting  the 
Shari  with  Bangui,  and  a  few  Moslems  find  their  way  down 
the  Ubangi  to  the  main  Congo  River.” 


VII.  T he  Sahara 

It  must  always  be  born  in  mind  that  for  Islam  the  Sahara 
is  not  a  barrier  but  a  habitat.  The  reverberations  of  a  blow 
struck  at  Islam  in  Algeria  or  Morocco  are  sure  to  be  felt  in 
Bomu  or  Senegal.  This  has  been  true  since  the  days  when 
the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain  gave  an  impetus  to 
the  growth  of  Moslem  empires  and  Moslem  propaganda  in 
.West  Africa.  On  all  the  fringes  of  the  Sahara  languages 
once  pagan  are  thoroughly  Islamised,  borrowing  in  vocabulary 
from  Arabic,  as  they  tighten  their  contact  with  the  dominant 
faith.  Such  are  the  group  of  Berber  languages,  found  in 
Morocco,  Algeria  and  Tripoli  especially  among  mountaineers 
of  the  various  Atlas  ranges.  “Through  the  whole  of  the 
western  Sahara,  races  once  Berber  in  speech  have  become 
Arabicised  since  the  I2th  or  13th  centuries.  This  widespread 
Arabic  Moslem  culture  must  not  be  forgotten.  Among  the 
various  tribes  of  Mauretania,  the  Hodh  and  the  Senegal,  there 
is  a  growing  and  wide-spread  desire  for  Arabic  literacy. 

Besides  the  educational  influence  of  the  Zcmias  ^  on  the 
“brothers”  (Ikhwan  or  Muridin)  of  the  various  dervish 
Orders,  the  children  also,  boys  and  girls,  without  exception 
receive  primary  education  in  the  Zawias.  They  learn  the 
Koran  by  heart  and  know  how  to  read  and  write.  The  dervish 
Sheikh  aims  at  “opening  to  them  new  horizons.”  In  the 
order  of  Ida-ou-‘Ali,  instruction  is  widely  spread,  libraries 
numerous  and  well-furnished.  Even  the  black  Marabouts  on 
the  lower  Senegal  “hold  it  as  a  point  of  honour,  of  conscience 
and  religious  duty  to  teach  the  children,  in  return  for  their 
labour,  at  least  the  letters  of  the  Arabic  alphabet,  and  certain 
formulas  of  prayer  and  passages  of  the  Koran.”  In  the 

*  The  word  is  here  used  of  the  prayer  center  of  a  branch  of  one  of  the 
Dervish  orders. 

[162] 


[163] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


sparse  library  of  the  Zcmna  of  Bou-Kounta  was  found  a 
Gospel  of  St.  Mark  in  Arabic.^ 

But  in  the  centre  and  east  of  the  Sahara,  over  great  tracts 
of  territory,  the  Berbers,  thanks  to  their  comparative  isolation, 
never  became  submerged  in  the  Arabic  world.  They  remained 
Berber  and  are  the  modern  Touareg.  In  the  Niger  region,  at 
the  northern  bend  of  the  river,  the  Aouelimmiden  also  preserve 
the  old  Berber  stock  and  speech,  and  are  closely  akin  to  the 
Touareg  in  manner  of  life.  On  the  Senegal,  another  Berber 
group  is  found  in  the  Senegal.”  {North  African  Report.) 
The  same  report,  speaking  of  the  to  5  million  Berbers  of 
Algeria  and  Morocco,  whose  old  speech  still  persists  before 
the  dominant  Arabic  and  French,  says: 

‘‘The  Arabo-Berber  race  is  vigorous,  and  with  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  inter-tribal  warfare  and  greater  development  of 
agriculture  and  industry,  there  is  likely  to  be  a  great  increase 
in  the  native  population  in  the  next  half  century.  French  will 
probably  in  time  become  the  literary  language  of  the  Berbers. 
But  those  who  learn  French  will  be  able  to  read  literature  in 
their  own  Berber  tongue  in  Roman  characters,  and  those  who 
learn  to  read  Arabic  will  be  able  to  read  their  own  Berber 
dialect  in  Arabic  character.  In  the  various  Berber  agglomera¬ 
tions  the  Berber  dialects  will  stand  first  as  a  means  of  spread¬ 
ing  the  Gospel.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  an  extensive 
j.  .  ^efature  beyond  the  simplest  will  ever  be  developed  in  these 
dialects.  Taking  the  north  of  Africa  as  a  whole,  the  Berber 
dialects  are  so  many  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  produce 
anything  like  uniformity  in  them.”  ® 

“In  the  early  days  of  Islam  in  North  Africa,  efforts  were 
made  to  produce  religious  literature  in  Berber.  Two  attempts 
to  compose  an  entirely  Berber  Koran  after  the  model  of 
Mohammed’s  are  known.  The  Ibadhiya  also  had  religious 
works  in  Berber,  now  translated  into  Arabic.  To-day  the 
Berber  literature  is  oral.  Its  value  resides  in  the  fact  that  it 
reveals  the  soul  of  the  people,  and  presents  models  of  what 
the  Christian  literature  in  Berber  ought  to  be,  as  to  form.  It 

*  See  “Revue  du  Monde  Musulman/’  1915-16,  pp,  53,  261,  425. 

®  See  Henri  Basset,  “Essai  sur  la  Literature  des  Berberes.” 

[164] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


consists  of  the  Qdnun,  or  Customary  Law  found  among  all 
Berber  groups,  of  tales  and  legends  and  of  popular  poetry  and 
songs.  These  are  a  mine  of  folk-lore  most  useful  to  the 
missionary.  There  is  a  call  to  evangelical  Christianity  to 
study,  alongside  French  and  native  scholars,  the  oral  literature 
of  this  most  interesting  people,  and  the  mentality  revealed 
therein,  and  to  learn  how  all  that  is  distinctive  of  the  race 
may  be  preserved  and  utilised  in  their  Christianisation. 

LITERATURE  EXISTENT 

The  production  of  Christian  literature  has  only  touched 
the  northernmost  fringe  of  the  Berber  people.  The  whole  of 
the  Bible  has  been  translated  into  Kabyle,  and  portions  of 
Scripture  into  Riff,  Soussi  and  Shilha.  In  Kabyle  is  also  a 
hymnbook,  a  Bible-catechism,  a  story  by  A.L.O.E.,  a  tract  on 
repentance  and  a  few  Scripture  leaflets. 

Further  Kabyle  literature,  which  has  been  prepared  but 
is  awaiting  publication,  includes  Daily  Light,  five  of  Dr. 
Rouse’s  Tracts,  Outline  Life  of  St.  Paul,  Christ  in  all  the 
Scriptures.  Beginnings  were  made  in  scientific  work  on 
Touareg  by  M.  Motylinski  of  the  Ecole  des  Lettres,  Algiers. 
When  his  work  was  published  after  his  death  by  his  friend 
M.  Rene  Basset,  there  was  incorporated  with  it  a  considerable 
amount  of  material  amassed  by  the  saintly  hermit  of  the 
Sahara,  the  French  Roman  Catholic  pioneer  priest  Charles  de 
Foucauld,  who  desired  that  his  scientific  work  should  remain 
anonymous.  When  Pere  de  Foucauld  died,  he  left  a  Touareg 
dictionary  and  other  valuable  manuscripts  on  Berber  philology. 
His  work  included  a  translation  of  the  Gospels  and  a  collection 
of  Touareg  poems  and  proverbs.® 

LITERATURE  NEEDED 

‘‘Whatever  is  produced  in  Kabyle,  the  best  known  and 
probably  the  purest  of  the  Berber  dialects,  could  be  put  into 
any  of  the  others. 

®  See  Rene  Bazin,  Charles  de  Foucauld,  Explorateur  du  Maroc,  Ermite 
au  Sahara. 

[165]. 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

The  more  popular  literature  should  be  about  the  same  for 
Berber  as  for  colloquial  Arabic. 

We  need  an  abundant  literature  of  story  and  parable,  espe¬ 
cially  in  verse.  Short  concise  tracts  in  Kabyle  (both  Latin 
and  Arabic  script)  on  (i)  Sin,  what  is  it?  (2)  God’s  mind 
concerning  sin.  (3)  Why  did  Christ  come?  (4)  What  did 
Christ  do?  etc.  We  also  want  bilingual  tracts  in  Kabyle  and 
French  for  boys  and  for  men :  Other  needs  include  : 

Pictorial  Sunday  school  literature. 

A  few  short  biographies 

Pilgrim's  Progress  (perhaps  abridged) 

Simple  Scripture  Histories 

A  Simple  Church  History 

How  we  got  our  Bible 

Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  tract  form.” 

{North  African  Report.) 

Fill.  T he  Southern  Sudan,  Northern  Nigeria 

Islam  has  long  been  dominant  in  the  upper  bend  of  the 
Niger  and  across  the  fertile  tracts  south  of  the  Sahara,  the 
home  of  Moslem  empires  of  the  past.  The  Kanuris  of  Bornu 
were  once  a  dominant  people,  as  were  also  the  Hausas,  whose 
language  has  been  called  the  Urdu  of  West  Africa.  These 
gave  way  at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  conquer¬ 
ing  Fulanis,  before  whose  onrush  the  still  independent  pagan 
kingdom  of  the  Nupes  went  down,  and  became  nominally 
Moslem.  The  tide  of  this  Moslem  invasion  broke  on  the 
Yorubas.  They  lost  some  of  Their  northern  territory,  then 
rallied  with  a  resistance  which  saved  Southern  Nigeria  from 
Islam.  The  present  boundary  between  Northern  and  Southern 
Nigeria  is  practically  the  line  at  which  Moslem  invasion  was 
stayed.  It  was  stayed,  but  not  for  long.  Soon  the  Pax 
Britannica  compelled  the  tribes  to  submit  to  the  peaceful 
penetration  of  Moslem  traders  and  officials.  ‘‘British  sur¬ 
veyors,”  says  Mr.  Roome,  “made  the  roads,  British  police 
guard  them,  and  a  fanatical  Moslem  passes  along  comfortably 
[166] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


and  safely.  The  pagan  knows  that  under  this  same  protection 
he  is  safe  from  Moslem  slave-raidings,  and  therefore  he  does 
not  oppose  the  Moslem  as  in  old  days.”  So  the  Niger  valley, 
like  those  of  the  Nile  and  the  Shari,  is  a  canal  for  the  south¬ 
ward  passage  of  Islam. 

The  task  of  the  literature  missionary  is  a  double  one. 
There  are  before  him  Moslem  languages  like  Hausa  and  Nupe, 
and  there  is  also  the  medley  of  pagan  or  only  half-Islamised 
tribal  tongues.  It  is  reckoned  that  there  are  perhaps  200  lan¬ 
guages  and  lesser  dialects  in  Northern  Nigeria  alone. 

Of  these  languages  only  Hausa  and  Nupe  have  the  small 
beginnings  of  a  Christian  literature  other  than  Scripture 
portions.  Hausa  is  the  more  developed,  with  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  Genesis,  Exodus,  Deuteronomy,  Psalms,  Isaiah,  Pil¬ 
grim's  Progress,  The  Holy  War,  parts  of  the  Prayer  Book, 
Life  of  Plants,  a  hymnal,  school  readers,  and  Dr.  Rouse’s 
tracts  on  Mohammedanism. 

The  present  policy  in  Hausaland  is  to  train  the  small 
Christian  community  in  English,  so  that  the  next  generation  of 
the  Church  will  be  able  to  read  English  literature.  Apart 
from  Hausa  and  Nupe  the  languages  of  Northern  Nigeria 
have  no  Christian  literature  except  Gospels,  with  occasionally 
a  few  Old  Testament  stories  or  a  primer  or  a  hymnbook.  The 
average  number  of  Christian  books  in  each  language  in  which 
a  beginning  has  been  made  is  only  three.  A  missionary  writes 
of  the  general  situation :  “A  huge  wave  of  materialism,  un¬ 
checked  by  the  stronger  influences  of  Christianity,  is  pouring 
in  and  swamping  all  the  social,  moral  and  religious  bulwarks 
of  the  land.  A  leading  Moslem,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
oldest  Moslem  families  of  Nigeria,  said  to  me  recently: 
‘Mohammedanism  as  a  real  power  for  good  is  dead.’  ” 

The  Lagos  bookshop  opened  branches  during  192 1-2  at 
Zaria,  Kiduna  and  Kano,  which  should  reach  many  of  the 
Moslems  of  Northern  Nigeria,  but  there  is  a  great  dearth  of 
suitable  books.  “There  is  little  Moslem  literature  other  than 
the  Koran  and  books  on  Moslem  law,”  says  the  report  for 
West  Africa,  “and  there  is  practically  no  Christian  literature, 
apart  from  the  Scriptures,  prepared  for  Moslems.  This  is 

[167] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


very  much  needed  and  should  be  of  an  expository  and  sympa¬ 
thetic  nature.  A  basic  literature  in  English  and  French  suit¬ 
able  for  translation  into  the  different  vernaculars  would  be 
very  useful  and  welcome/^ 


IX.  T he  West  C oast 

‘Tew  people,”  says  the  report,  “realise  the  immense  area 
of  the  West  Coast  from  the  Niger  to  Senegambia  which  is 
worked  by  some  53  different  Protestant  Missionary  Societies. 
These  societies  have  practically  no  connection  with  one  another 
and  no  joint  conferences.  Distances  are  very  great  and  all 
the  societies  are  sadly  under-staffed.  The  majority  of  mission 
work  in  West  Africa  is  among  pagan  tribes,  being  much 
easier  and  more  fruitful  than  among  Moslems  in  the  interior. 
There  are  perhaps  only  one  or  two  stations  where  work  is 
being  carried  on  solely  among  Moslems.  The  progress  of 
Islam  is  in  some  places  very  rapid.  Its  converts  must  number 
thousands  every  year.” 

The  largest  mission  printing  office  on  the  West  Coast  is  at 
Lagos  and  the  bookshop  connected  with  it  has  fourteen  branch 
establishments.  Three  of  the  languages  of  Southern  Nigeria 
(Ibo,  Efik,  and  Yoruba)  have  an  output  of  Christian  books 
for  the  church  life  built  up  among  converts  from  paganism. 
Higher  education  is  generally  in  English  and  two  or  three 
Christian  journals  circulate  in  English.  Yoruba  has  the 
largest  Christian  literature  (about  35  books  in  all)  and  this 
literature  takes  for  granted  the  Christian  background,  or  if 
evangelistic,  appeals  to  pagans.  But  Dr.  Rouse’s  tracts  have 
been  translated  into  Yoruba  and  there  is  a  valuable  book  by 
the  Rev.  T.  A.  J.  Ogunbiyi,  Converts  from  Islam,  and  a  trans¬ 
lation  of  the  Koran  into  Yoruba  made  by  another  African 
clergyman,  the  Rev.  M.  S.  Cole,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
members  of  his  congregation  in  Lagos. 

Passing  westwards  along  the  coast  we  find  a  number  of 
small,  isolated  missions  with  minute  beginnings  in  Christian 
literature  for  pagans.  In  the  majority  of  the  languages  the 
[168] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


work,  so  far,  consists  of  one  or  two  books  of  the  Bible  and 
a  hymnbook  or  reader  or  catechism.  More  has  been  done  on 
the  Gold  Coast,  where  the  Missions  are  of  long  standing;  the 
Twi  and  Ga  languages  have  the  whole  Bible  and  a  considerable 
list  of  other  books.  All  of  these  missions,  where  they  ap¬ 
proach  the  coast,  begin  to  be  conscious  of  the  influence  of 
Moslem  traders,  while  missionaries  of  the  Ahmadiya  move¬ 
ment  have  appeared  on  the  Gold  Coast. 

A.  Senegal  and  the  Western  Sudan 

The  small  missions  of  the  Paris  Society  and  the  Gospel 
Missionary  Union  in  Senegal  feel  constantly  the  influence  of 
the  Moslem  Sahara.  Medine,  on  the  Senegal,  is  a  holy  city 
for  all  the  Moslems  of  the  West  Sudan.  Islam  here  has 
enjoyed  government  aid,  for  the  government  at  one  time 
established  an  Islamic  seminary  for  the  training  of  teachers 
for  Koran  schools,  and  supported  nine  hundred  such  schools. 
This  policy  gave  an  impetus  to  Arabic  and  to  Islam.  The 
Rev.  J.  A.  Mesnard  wrote: 

‘‘The  little  island  of  Goree — the  entrepot  of  French  com¬ 
merce  on  the  coast  of  Senegal — was  a  few  years  ago  a 
stronghold  of  the  Roman  Church.  The  greater  part  of  the 
shops  are  now  managed  by  Mohammedans.  I  sold  more  than 
a  score  of  copies  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures  in  the  island.” 

The  local  languages,  Joley,  Tula,  Bambara  and  Mosho, 
overshadowed  by  a  neighbour  of  such  immense  prestige  as 
Arabic,  are  only  at  the  stage  of  first  reduction  to  writing. 
Two  Gospels  and  a  grammar  are  almost  all  that  has  been 
produced. 

XI.  General  C onclusions 

ARABIC 

This  language  has  immense  prestige  in  Africa  as  far 
South  as  the  Equator,  but  it  is  read  intelligently  by  very  few 

[169] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


indeed  outside  of  the  Arabic  lands.  Yet  those  few  are  leading 
men.  It  is  necessary: 

(1)  To  develop  better  plans  for  the  circulation  of  Arabic 
Christian  literature  in  Africa. 

(2)  To  produce  something  in  Arabic  still  shorter  and 
simpler  than  our  ordinary  product  for  Arabic  lands. 

AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 

These  present  the  difficulty  of  extreme  multiplicity  of 
dialect.  Beginnings  of  Christian  literature  have  been  made 
in  123  such  languages.  None  of  these  are  literary  languages. 
‘‘The  largest  ‘library’  noted  in  the  Survey  would  barely  fill 
a  3  ft.  bookshelf,  while  the  average  one  could  easily  be  carried 
in  a  pocket  handkerchief,”  and  the  books  published  by  missions 
are  generally  the  sum  total  of  literature  produced  in  these 
languages. 

In  Persia  or  China,  literature  can  travel  and  work  where 
there  is  no  missionary.  In  Africa  it  can  only  follow  the 
missionary,  who  is  the  teacher  of  reading  as  well  as  of  faith. 
In  Swahili,  and  in  Kabyle,  and  possibly  in  a  few  other 
languages  where  a  system  of  education  is  coming  into  being, 
and  where  Moslem  thought  is  dominant,  there  will  be  need  for 
the  same  type  of  simple  literature  as  is  now  needed  in  the 
various  Arabic  colloquials. 

In  pagan  languages,  literature  for  Moslems  may  not  be 
necessary.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  any  preparation 
of  Christian  literature  in  an  African  pagan  language,  as  yet 
untouched  by  Islam,  builds  a  barrier  across  which  Islam 
cannot  pass.  For  it  is  a  matter  of  experience  that  the  building 
up  of  a  simple  literature  of  daily  Christian  life  for  any 
African  tribe  makes  the  language  of  that  tribe  a  barrier 
language  to  the  penetration  of  Islam. 

The  needed  literature  directly  relating  to  Islam  is  along 
two  lines. 

( I )  The  African  Christian  Church  needs  to  be  prepared 
for  the  evangelisation  of  Moslems.  A  very  simple  literature 
(a)  showing  her  what  she  has  in  Christ  that  her  Moslem 
[170] 


AFRICAN  LANGUAGES 


brother  misses,  and  (b)  informing  her  about  the  nature,  his¬ 
tory,  and  extent  of  Islam,  and  her  own  place  in  the  task  of 
evangelisation,  will  be  needed  wherever  an  established  Chris¬ 
tian  Church  comes  into  contact  with  advancing  Islam. 

(2)  The  African  Moslem,  born  a  pagan,  does  not  change 
his  thought  world  when  he  accepts  Islam.  He  may  change 
the  charms  he  wears,  but  he  still  wears  charms.  Spirits  and 
magic  still  loom  large  in  his  life,  but,  for  him,  Islam  knows 
a  more  powerful  magic  than  his  old  cult.  We  have  not  yet 
thought  out  a  very  simple  literature  that  shall  acclaim  Christ 
as  triumphant  over  the  whole  demon-world;  that  shall  make 
much  of  the  Gospel  stories  of  the  defeat  of  evil  spirits,  and 
the  victorious  contacts,  described  in  the  Acts,  of  the  first 
Christians  with  the  magic  of  the  age.  There  may  be  need  for 
such  types  of  literature  as  the  Breast-plate  of  St.  Patrick 
written  to  express  Christian  freedom  and  safety  in  a  magic- 
ridden  world. 


CO-OPERATION 

The  committee  of  the  recent  survey  of  African  literature,"^ 
realising  the  immense  difficulties  of  local  authorship  among 
quite  newly-literate  churches  and  understaffed  missions,  is 
meeting  part  of  the  need  by  (a)  preparing  a  program  for  a 
rudimentary  Christian  literature  in  any  African  language,  with 
books  on  simple  Christian  duties,  practical  explanations  of  the 
Bible  and  of  Christian  doctrines,  and  school  readers  on  ele¬ 
mentary  subjects;  (b)  suggesting  suitable  books  in  English, 
or  having  manuscripts  prepared  in  English,  always  with 
African  conditions  in  view,  for  translation  into  African 
languages  desirous  of  carrying  out  any  part  of  the  suggested 
programme. 

So  warmly  have  the  missions  responded  to  this  help  that 
one  reader  on  hygiene  in  Africa  (first  produced  on  the  Congo 
in  French  and  Congo)  circulated  by  this  committee,  has  been 
translated  into  forty-eight  languages. 

The  greatest  step  forward  in  literature  for  Moslem  evan- 

’  To  whom  we  are  indebted  for  co-operation  and  help  in  preparing  this 
report. 

[171]; 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


gelisation  would  be  to  secure  the  inclusion,  in  the  programme 
of  the  African  Christian  Literature  Committee,  of  two  types 
of  books  concerning  Islam : 

(a)  A  simpler  primer  preparing  the  African  Christian 
Church  to  evangelise  Islam,  its  emphasis  on  what  Christianity 
possesses  that  is  not  found  in  Islam,  its  writer  remembering 
that  Islam  may  first  come  before  the  African  Christian  with 
the  prestige  and  hauteur  of  a  wealthy,  travelled,  and  from 
his  point  of  view  learned,  foreign  trading  class. 

(b)  A  simple  literature  specially  prepared  for  the  African 
pagan-turned  Moslem,  who  still  lives  in  a  world  of  magic. 
This  could  be  used  for  reading  where  the  Moslem  is  literate, 
or  as  a  basis  for  lessons  by  African  teachers  and  catechists. 

Such  a  literature  does  not  up  to  the  present  exist  in  Arabic, 
where  the  books  are  prepared  for  Moslems  with  a  background 
of  Islamic  thought,  rather  than  of  animism.  It  calls  for  an 
author  who  knows  African  village  life,  to  write  in  a  European 
language  for  free  translation  into  various  African  tongues.  If 
a  missionary,  understanding  the  mind  of  an  African  pagan- 
turned-Moslem,  were  to  prepare  such  literature,  it  could  prob¬ 
ably,  with  local  changes  of  vocabulary  and  colour  touches,  be 
used  also  for  the  Moslem-animists  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
and  of  the  Philippines,  and  even  in  the  Arabic  colloquials, 
among  simple  folk  with  whom  magical  ideas  are  the  most 
powerful  factors  in  religion. 


[172] 


Chapter  X 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS 
IN  EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 

'^Give  us  literature  and  we  will  show  surprising 
results  for  Christ  and  His  civilisation,"  writes  one 
of  our  enthusiastic  workers.  Where  is  the  man  or 
woman  of  wealth  who  will  seize  this  opportunity? 

We  have  had  large  personal  gifts  for  education  and 
for  medicine;  who  will  make  a  large  gift  for  litera¬ 
ture?  We  need  those  who  will  finance  the  publishing 
of  particular  hooks;  we  need  those  who  will  make 
possible  the  publishing  of  popidar  magazines ;  we 
need,  most  of  all,  those  who  will  supplement  the 
general  budgets  of  the  literature  societies.  One 
fairly  envies  people  of  wealth  the  chance  to  sefize  this 
opportunity. — Cornelius  H.  Patton,  D.D.,  in 
“The  International  Review  of  Missions.” 

North  and  South  America,  Great  Britain,  France,  Ger¬ 
many,  Holland,  South  Africa  and  Australia  all  have  their 
Moslem  population,  drawn  there  by  politics,  study  or  trade.^ 
There  is  no  great  European  language  without  a  circle,  even 
if  a  small  one,  of  Moslem  readers  to  whom  its  literature  is 
open.  These  groups  of  Moslems  in  the  lands  of  the  West 
are  not,  however,  mere  absorbers  of  western  thought;  they 
have  an  added  importance  as  propagandists  of  Moslem 
thought  in  the  languages  they  have  adopted. 

“Educated  Moslems  from  India,  Egypt,  Algeria,  Persia, 
Syria  and  Turkey  are  now  found  in  considerable  numbers  in 
London,  Paris,  Geneva  and  Berlin,  not  to  speak  of  North  and 
South  America.  Although  the  total  number  is  small  statis- 

*  For  statistics  of  Moslem  population  see  Appendix  B. 

[173] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tically  it  is  highly  influential  dynamically  because  of  their  use 
of  the  press.  The  cities  mentioned  have  become  active  centres 
of  Mohammedan  propagandism.  Educated  Moslems,  for 
example  such  leaders  as  the  Agha  Khan,  Sayyed  Amir  ’Ali, 
and  others,  are  using  the  daily  secular  press  to  advocate  not 
only  Moslem  politics  in  such  matters  as  the  Khali  fate  and  the 
future  of  Turkey,  but  Moslem  ethics  and  the  spread  of  Islam 
in  Africa  and  Asia/’ 


I.  French 

France  is  very  conscious  of  her  great  Moslem  empire  in 
Africa.  A  mosque  and  Moslem  institute  is  being  built  in 
Paris.  The  Paris  Municipal  Council  offered  a  site  for  the 
building,  and  granted  a  subsidy  for  its  erection.  At  the 
ceremony  of  inauguration,  as  representatives  of  French 
Moslems,  were  present  the  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  the  Sultan 
of  Morocco,  the  Algerian  and  Tunisian  Caids,  and  the  Min¬ 
ister  of  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  besides  representatives  of  Turkey, 
the  Afghan  Amir,  and  the  King  of  Egypt.  The  speeches 
were  unanimous  in  expressing  the  friendship  between  the 
Moslems  and  France,  and  dwelt  particularly  on  the  great 
services  and  loyalty  of  the  French  Moslems  during  the  Great 
War.  The  Figaro  upon  this  occasion  wrote,  “One  hundred 
thousand  Mussulmans  fell  in  the  cause  of  France  during  the 
war.  Twenty  million  followers  of  the  Prophet  live  under  our 
law  or  our  protection.  Every  day  the  number  of  our  African 
subjects  who  visit  Paris  for  pleasure,  study  or  business  is 
growing  greater.” 

La  Fraternite  Musulmane  (3  Rue  Mogador),  is  a  Moslem 
mutual  aid  society,  established  at  Paris  (1907),  by  French¬ 
men  who  have  turned  Moslem,  and  Moslems  from  Algiers 
and  elsewhere.  The  Christians  of  France  have  the  Moslem 
question  at  their  very  doors,  for  the  present  colonial  policy, 
making  of  Moslem  lands  French  departments  overseas,  results 
in  great  intermingling  of  populations.  Paris  is  becoming  the 
capital  city  of  the  Arab  of  Tunis  as  of  all  French  provincials. 

[174] 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


Three  Moslem  magazines,  pan-Islamic  in  tendency  and  all 
of  importance,  are  published  in  French  at  Paris : 

Correspondance  d'Orientj  bi-monthly  (3  Rue  Laffitte), 
containing  political  correspondence  by  Moslems  from  all  the 
Near  East,  and  surveys  of  conditions  social  and  economic, 
anti-British  and  pan-Islamic. 

Orient  et  Occident,  monthly,  (28  Rue  Bonaparte),  con¬ 
taining  able  articles  on  the  solidarity  of  Islam,  Islam  and 
Bolshevism,  nationalist  movements  and  Moslem  propaganda 
in  Africa.  Among  the  writers  in  recent  numbers  are  Prince 
Said  Halim,  Gervais  Courtollemont,  Essad  Fouad,  Ahmed 
Rustem  Bey  and  Rabindranath  Tagore. 

Echos  de  V Islam,  bi-monthly  (24  Rue  Taitbout).  It  is 
the  official  organ  of  the  “Bureau  dTn formations  Islamiques’' 
and  has  subscribers  in  India,  Syria,  Egypt,  Java,  Singapore, 
etc.  It  is  more  widely  read  and  quoted  than  any  other  western 
Moslem  periodical.  Its  contents  are  mostly  political  and  pro- 
Turkish,  emphasising  the  Franco-Turkish  alliance  and  the 
pro-Moslem  policy  of  the  French  government.  At  the  office 
of  this  paper,  propagandist  literature  in  several  languages  is 
on  sale. 

So  much  for  Moslem  activity,  with  its  usual  blend  of  the 
political  and  the  religious,  within  France  itself.  That  is  in  the 
main  a  call  to  the  Christians  of  France.  But  missions  of  all 
nationalities  in  North  African  lands  are  concerned  with  the 
rapid  spread  of  the  French  language  in  Algeria,  Morocco  and 
Tunisia.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Financial  Delegations  of  the 
Algerian  Government  in  June  1921,  the  following  expression 
of  French  policy  was  made : 

“In  this  country  the  future  belongs  to  the  French 
language.  Arabic  is  evidently  a  treasure  that  must  be  pre¬ 
served;  but  only  for  cultured  minds,  and  not  for  the  masses 
of  the  native  population.  It  is  instruction  in  the  French 
language  that  must  be  given  in  profusion,  if  we  wish  to  draw 
the  Moslem  population  to  us.” 

To  be  able  to  read  and  write  in  French  gives  the  right  to 
a  native  of  Algeria  of  becoming  a  French  citizen,  provided 
he  is  twenty-five  years  of  age,  married  to  only  one  wife  or 

[175] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


unmarried,  and  has  never  been  condemned  for  a  crime  which 
involves  loss  of  political  rights. 

It  is  hardly  surprising  then  to  read,  in  the  North  African 
report  of  the  Survey,  that  “French  is  spoken  and  read  by  an 
increasing  number  of  natives  in  North  Africa.  The  spread 
of  French  is  due  to  intercourse  with  Europeans  and  to  the 
public  education  of  the  schools.  French  will  probably  in  time 
become  the  literary  language  of  the  masses  of  the  native 
population,  especially  of  the  Berbers,  being  the  only  language 
that  many  of  them  will  learn  to  read.  There  is  no  prospect 
of  French  replacing  Arabic  or  Berber  as  spoken  languages,  but 
it  will  be  a  second  language,  and  essentially  the  language  of 
culture  and  new  ideas.  At  the  present  time  there  may  be  from 
200,000  to  300,000  who  can  read  French;  but  these  are  the 
most  progressive  elements  of  the  population  and  their  number 
will  increase  very  rapidly.” 

Here  lies  both  an  opportunity  and  a  danger. 

“To  those  conversant  with  French  all  French  literature  is 
open.  The  bad  has  great  influence,  pandering  as  it  does  to  the 
lowest  instincts.  There  is  also  the  non-Christian  free-thinking 
style  of  literature,  also  the  popular  educational  literature,  but 
very  little  that  is  decidedly  Christian.  The  French  literature 
current  in  Algeria  is  not  generally  imbued  with  Christian 
ideas,  but  is  often  of  a  kind  that  would  tend  to  drive  men  away 
from  Christianity.”  The  same  may  be  said  of  much  of  the 
French  literature  that  enters  Egypt,  Syria,  Constantinople 
and  Persia. 

That  is  the  danger.  It  is  important  therefore  to  make  the 
best  use  of  current  French  literature  that  is  Christian  in  tone. 
“Mission  bookstores,”  says  the  report,  “should  stock  all  that  is 
pure  and  good  in  French  literature,  all  that  makes  for  indi¬ 
vidual,  family,  social  and  national  well-being  as  well  as  healthy 
recreational  and  instructive  literature.”  The  report  cites  the 
following  periodicals  that  might  be  of  use:  Le  Semeiir  (Stu¬ 
dent  Federation),  U  Eclair  eur  Unionist  e  (Boy  Scouts), 
Esperance  (Y.M.C.A.),  La  Jeune  Fille  (Y.W.C.A.),  La 
Bonne  Revue,  UAiihe,  Le  Rayon  de  Soleil,  Journal  des  Ecoles 
de  Dimanche  (33  Rue  des  Saints  Peres,  Paris,  a  monthly 
[176] 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


publication  with  notes  of  lessons  and  leaflets  for  Sunday 
school  scholars). 

But  a  literature,  however  Christian,  intended  for  French 
people,  cannot  meet  all  the  needs  of  readers  brought  up  in  a 
Moslem  environment.  To  ensure  this,  books  will  have  to  be 
prepared  on  the  spot.  ‘‘We  need  literature  in  French  prepared 
for  Moslems  of  all  degrees  of  education,  from  the  simple 
schoolboy  to  the  man  in  a  liberal  profession.  What  is  pro¬ 
duced  in  Algeria  in  French  is  in  modern  style  and  presents 
well.” 

The  following  are  mentioned  as  desiderata,  all  to  be 
written  in  view  of  Moslem  life  and  thought: 

(a)  Life  of  Christ,  Life  of  Paul,  Studies  in  the  lives  and 

work  of  the  Apostles. 

(b)  Books  on  Bible  Study  in  French,  such  as  Dr.  Sell’s  Bible 

Study  Text-books  or  Dr.  Campbell  Morgan’s 
Analysed  Bible. 

(c)  Catechisms,  manual  of  Church  History,  short  history 

of  the  North  African  Church  in  French,  dealing 
specially  with  the  chief  personages  of  North  African 
origin. 

(d)  “  Books  in  French  on  Christian  life  and  practice  do  not 

refer  to  the  conditions  here.  We  need  in  French 
examples  of  conversions  from  Islam  in  simple  style 
and  showing  chiefly  the  change  of  heart,  life  and 
purpose;  and  especially  something  on  the  Christian 
ideal  of  the  family.  This  is  all-important  in  this 
field.” 

(e)  Scripture  pictures  are  needed  with  letter-press  in  French. 

The  French  press  issues  grotesquely  comic  sheets  of 
coloured  pictures  with  letter-press,  often  of  ques¬ 
tionable  if  not  low  tone.  The  idea  would  be  a  good 
one  to  employ  for  good  short  stories,  even  biblical 
stories. 

(f)  For  young  men:  simple  apologetic  tracts. 

(g)  For  boys:  stories  from  history;  papers  on  arts  and 

crafts;  Scripture  histories  illustrated. 

;[i77] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


(h)  ^‘Many  can  read  who  have  no  taste  for  reading  except 
to  read  the  newspapers.  Besides  the  possible  use  of 
the  newspapers  for  evangelism,  a  periodical  in  which 
at  least  a  part  will  be  in  French  is  a  great  necessity 
and  should  be  an  item  in  our  programme  of  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  for  this  area.” 

Such  a  literature,  it  is  pointed  out,  should  be  in  very  simple 
French.  While  its  principal  use  would  be  in  North  Africa,  it 
might  have  a  much  wider  sphere  through  some  central  circu¬ 
lation  bureau  for  the  whole  Moslem  world.  Thus  in  Persia, 
French  is  read  by  many  of  the  educated  classes.  A  missionary 
writes : 

“French  novels  are  read  here  freely.  French  is  the  neces¬ 
sary  language  for  all  government  services  and  Persians  soon 
become  proficient  in  it.  Boys  educated  in  our  C.M.S.  Schools 
have  brought  me  French  novels  of  the  undesirable  type.  Many 
Teheranis  are  fluent  French  scholars.” 

Again,  the  Moslem  fraternity  in  the  island  of  Mauritius 
publishes  its  weekly  paper  (Ulslamisme)  in  the  French  lan¬ 
guage.  On  the  Congo  the  missions  have  produced  substitute 
bilingual  primers  for  school  work,  in  French  and  Congo. 
French  literature  for  Moslems  could  also  be  used  to  a  certain 
extent  in  Turkey,  Syria  and  Egypt. 

II.  English 

English  is  another  of  the  languages  of  Moslem  propa¬ 
ganda,  whether  in  India  or  in  Britain  or  America. 

INDIA 

Although  the  total  number  of  Moslems  in  India  literate 
in  English  was  only  179,991  at  the  19  ii  census,  these  were 
the  leaders  of  the  Moslem  community.  At  the  Aligarh  Uni¬ 
versity  and  in  the  High  Schools  everywhere,  young  Moslems 
of  the  leading  classes  learn  English,  and  the  Indian  report 

[178] 


iry  •  T-' 


i|  ♦ 


jt 


•  •<:*  ^  •  • 


•  ^ -•  '  ^Z  ''  ■  ‘ 

'■  ■  -v'  T  ■''■->>,■  ■  A-' 


.  *V  •• 


■5:  V  S-. 


K  . 


,  --'f  U-c-iL'V  ^  5. 

i-Vii  •  ,.v'-.-  ,.-  »BB.  >t;..  •!.■■  . 

•,  f  -■  :-a' ^  '  v  i3l  . 

H  ■  -  -  /  V  ‘  ■"  •  ■•  ' 

, ■.;,  ■  ‘ ;-4 ■■  ;:■■■■'  -  •-  ■  ..^ 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


gives  to  English  the  fourth  place  in  importance  as  a  lan¬ 
guage  for  the  production  of  literature  for  Moslems.  They 
themselves  make  much  of  the  language.  The  Comrade,^  of 
Delhi,  The  Observer  of  Lahore,  The  Message  of  Colombo, 
The  Mussulman  of  Calcutta  and  The  Review  of  Religions  of 
Qadian,  are  ably  edited  anti-Christian  papers,  the  last  with 
a  considerable  gratis  circulation  outside  India.  Recently  a 
Moslem  magazine  called  The  Light  has  appeared,  a  patent 
imitation  of  The  Epiphany,  a  Christian  paper  issued  by  the 
Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta  to  answer  enquiries  and  defend 
the  Faith. 

The  Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam  at  Lahore  sends  its 
output  to  all  parts  of  the  Indian  Empire.  It  stocks  a  number 
of  English  titles,  such  as  Manners  and  Morals  of  the  Prophet, 
Early  Muslims  and  their  Golden  Deeds,  Women  under  Islam, 
Prayer  Book  for  Moslems,  etc.  Two  English  versions  of  the 
Koran,  carefully  edited  for  Christian  readers  have  appeared 
in  India,  namely  that  by  Abu’l  Fazl  in  two  volumes,  Arabic 
and  English  (Allahabad  1911),  and  the  Holy  Koran  pub¬ 
lished  at  Qadian  1915. 


BRITAIN 

The  chief  publication  work  by  Moslems  is  connected  with 
the  mission  started  about  1912  by  Mr.  Kemal-id-Din,  a  pleader 
in  the  chief  court  of  Lahore.  This  mission  has  for  its  centre 
the  mosque  at  Woking  built  by  Dr.  Leitner  for  the  use  of 
Indian  students  in  England.  The  teaching  is  that  of  the 
Lahore  branch  of  the  Ahmadiya  Movement,  very  carefully 
adapted  for  Western  consumption.  But  the  mission  is  friendly 
to  the  Aligarh  school  and  appeals  for  support  to  Moslems  of 
every  type.  It  does  not  require  of  converts  any  peculiar 
Ahmadiya  doctrines.  The  publication  work  is  considerable. 
There  is  a  well  known  translation  of  the  Koran  (in  addition 
to  the  two  English  translations  published  in  India)  with  notes 
packed  with  Christian  theological  terms,  the  whole  being  pro¬ 
duced  in  the  format  used  for  Bibles.  The  notes  totally  ignore 

®  Suppressed  for  the  present  by  the  Government. 

[179]: 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Moslem  official  commentaries  and  give  a  rational  explanation 
of  the  miraculous. 

The  mission  publishes  a  magazine,  The  Islamic  Review, 
of  which  many  copies  are  distributed  gratis  both  in  India 
and  Britain.  It  is  printed  in  English  and  circulates  in  many 
countries,  modified  editions  of  it  being  published  also  in  Urdu 
and  Tamil. 

The  report  of  the  Survey  says  of  the  work  of  this  mission : 

“Woking  is  awake  to  every  Christian  movement  among 
Moslems,  and  to  all  reports  of  progress  in  Moslem  lands,  eager 
and  able  to  present  the  weakness  and  wickedness  of  Christian 
civilisation,  and  welcoming  any  weapon  that  can  be  turned 
against  historic  Christianity. 

Their  magazine.  The  Islamic  Review,  is  ably  edited  by 
Khawaja  Kemal-id-Din,  is  illustrated,  and  contains  in  every 
issue  an  advertisement  of  the  Islamic  Review  Book  Depot, 
The  character  of  the  magazine  is  well  known.  Every  issue 
contains  articles  comparing  Islam  and  Christianity,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  latter,  and  using  the  weapons  of  western  de¬ 
structive  criticism  to  assail  the  fundamentals  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Lists  of  names  are  also  given  of  British  and  of 
Americans  who  have  embraced  Islam.  In  the  January  (1922) 
number,  this  list  contained  fifteen  names,  one  of  them  that  of 
an  American  Doctor  of  Divinity.”  The  magazine  does  not 
hesitate  to  besmirch  and  libel  the  spotless  character  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Another  Moslem  magazine  is  The  Muslim  Standard  pub¬ 
lished  in  London.  This  is  connected  with  the  Islamic  Infor¬ 
mation  Bureau  which  in  France  has  Echos  de  IT  slam  as  its 
organ.  An  appeal  issued  from  25  Ebury  Street,  S.W.  i, 
stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  paper  was  “to  help  the  cause 
of  the  suffering  (Moslem)  peoples  and  to  defend  the  honours 
of  Islam.”  “From  Moslems  we  appeal  for  funds.  Nothing 
can  be  done  without  funds.  We  want  money  from  Moslems 
to  enable  us  to  enlarge  our  free  circulation  among  non- 
Moslems.” 

Dr.  Weitbrecht  Stanton  reports  regarding  the  activity  of 
the  Woking  Press.  “The  main  lines,”  he  says,  “of  their 
[180] 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


literary  propaganda  are  the  excellence  of  the  Koranic  revela¬ 
tion,  the  ideal  character  of  Mohammed,  the  position  of  Moslem 
womanhood,  the  evils  of  Christian  civilisation  and  the  un- 
historical  character  of  the  New  Testament.” 

The  following  list  of  books  advertised  by  the  Woking 
Mission  is  illustrative  of  the  line  of  apologetic  followed : 

Lord  Headley:  A  Western  Awakening  to  Islam.  Warn¬ 
ing  against  Drink. 

Marmaduke  Pickthall :  The  Kingdom  of  God. 

Sadr-ed-Din :  Are  the  Gospels  inspired? 

Her  Highness  The  Ruler  of  Bhopal :  The  Muslim  Home. 

Dr.  Mohammed  Iqbal:  The  Secret  of  the  Self. 

Sheikh  M.  H.  Kidwai  (A1  Qidwai)  The  Mosque,  Wok¬ 
ing:  Woman  under  Judaism  and  Buddhism,  Woman  under 
Christianity,  Woman  under  Islam,  Woman  under  different 
social  and  religious  laws.  Sister  Religions,  Maulid  un  Nabi, 
Divorce,  Muslim  interests  in  Palestine,  Muhammad  the  Sign 
of  God,  Three  great  Martyrs,  Socrates,  Jesus  and  Ho  sain. 
Harem,  Purdah  or  Seclusion. 

Khawaja  Kemal-id-Din :  Islam  and  the  Muslim  Prayer, 
Sayings  of  the  Prophet  Muhammad,  Glimpses  from  the  life 
of  the  Prophet  Muhammad,  The  Mystic  Side  of  Islam,  The 
Gospel  of  Peace. 

As  to  the  Christian  literature  to  meet  these  Moslem  attacks, 
'‘we  have,”  says  Dr.  Stanton,  “such  Christian  booklets  as 
The  Teaching  of  the  Koran,  and  Extracts  from  the  Koran  now 
being  printed  in  India.  Ecce  Homo  Arabicus  by  W.  H.  T. 
Gairdner  has  proved  valuable.  Something  more  should  be 
done  on  these  lines,  for  though  the  demand  in  Britain  is 
sporadic,  articles  from  The  Islamic  Review  are  translated  and 
published  in  India,  Malaysia,  Africa  and  South  America,  and 
brochures  that  meet  them  might  be  similarly  used.”  As 
prophylactic  against  much  of  the  afore-mentioned  literature 
in  English  from  the  Moslem  press,  the  late  H.  A.  Walter’s 
careful  and  able  work  The  Ahmadiya  Movement  is  most 
useful,  and  we  have  also  that  admirable  series  of  books  and 
tracts  by  Sell,  Goldsack,  Gairdner  and  Takle  published  in  the 
Islam  Series  of  the  Christian  Literature  Society  for  India. 

[i8ij 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


THE  UNITED  STATES 

“For  many  years  past,”  writes  our  correspondent  “through 
Syrian  and  Armenian-speaking  colporteurs  the  Chicago  Tract 
Society  has  come  in  frequent  contact  with  Mohammedan 
immigrants;  they  have  come  to  America  for  the  most  part 
from  Turkey,  but  some  are  from  Albania  and  some  from 
North  India.  A  year  ago  our  Society  made  an  effort  to  locate 
the  principal  Mohammedan  groups,  and  to  get  reliable  and 
definite  information  regarding  Mohammedans  in  America. 
While  we  have  been  able  to  locate  the  colonies  in  some  of  our 
larger  cities,  and  particularly  along  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  between  Gary  on  the  south  and  Green  Bay  on  the 
north,  and  in  Worcester,  Peabody  and  Lynn,  Massachusetts, 
we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  the  facts  we  need.  The  Al¬ 
banian  Moslems  of  the  United  States  have  their  headquarters 
at  Waterbury,  Connecticut.  Later  investigations  by  Dr. 
Zwemer  have  revealed  Moslem  groups  at  Milwaukee,  Chicago, 
Pittsburgh,  Cleveland,  Akron,  New  York  City,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  Boston,  Worcester,  Sioux  Citv,  Fargo  and  other 
smaller  towns. 

The  principal  American  Moslem  paper  in  English  is  The 
Moslem  Sunrise,  first  published  by  Dr.  M.  M.  Sadiq  at  Detroit, 
now  issued  from  Chicago.  It  represents  the  mission  of  the 
Ahmadiya  movement,  whose  propaganda  in  the  United  States 
finds  its  centre  at  4448  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago.  The  Babi- 
Behai  movement  also  has  its  chief  centre  in  Chicago. 

Australia,  too,  has  its  Moslem  propagandist  paper  in  Eng¬ 
lish,  Moslem  Sunshine,  published  by  the  Ahmadiya  movement. 


HI.  German 

The  Christians  of  Germany  also  have  Moslems  at  their 
doors,  for  especially  since  the  war,  Berlin  University  (not 
to  mention  other  centres)  has  drawn  a  large  Moslem  student 
body.  There  are  Egyptian,  Turkish,  Afghan,  Caucasian  and 
Indian  Moslems  settled  in  Berlin,  and  the  most  considerable 
[182] 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


Persian  periodicals  come  from  the  Persian  colony  of  Berlin. 
A  magnificent  mosque  was  built  near  the  city  and  according 
to  The  Islamic  Review  (January,  1922)  is  maintained  with 
State  endowments.  This  paper  says: 

“Our  correspondent  from  Berlin  gives  an  impressive  ac¬ 
count  of  the  celebration  of  Td-ul-Fitr  on  May  29th  last,  at  the 
mosque,  situated  at  Wundersdorf,  an  hour’s  ride  from  Berlin. 
Hundreds  of  Moslems  from  all  parts  of  the  world  had  assem¬ 
bled  there.  The  ceremony  was  enlivened  by  a  display  of 
Turkish,  Afghan,  Persian  and  Egyptian  flags,  all  of  which 
Powers  were  represented  by  their  respective  ministers.” 

The  Liwa-el-Islam  ( Braunschweich,  Hagenstrasse  27),  a 
Moslem  propagandist  bi-monthly,  of  political  rather  than 
religious  character,  is  issued  at  Berlin  in  German,  Turkish, 
Arabic  and  Persian  editions.  It  is  in  its  second  year,  illus¬ 
trated,  well  edited  and  pan-Islamic  in  its  programme.  The 
editor  is  Professor  Ilyas  Bragon  Bey. 


fV.  General  Conclusions 

To  a  certain  extent  each  great  European  language  has 
now  its  opportunity  of  serving  Moslems.  Russian  is  known 
by  many  Tatar  Moslems  and  by  not  a  few  Sart.  Italian  is 
beginning  to  be  used  in  Tripoli,  where  an  Italian- Arabic  paper 
is  published.  Spanish  is  current  to  a  certain  extent  in  the 
Spanish  zone  of  Morocco,  Dutch  is  being  learned  in  Insulinde, 
and  so  the  tale  might  be  prolonged. 

A  very  large  and  scholarly  European  literature  about  Islam 
exists  in  Italian,  Dutch,  Spanish,  German,  French  and  Eng¬ 
lish.  There  is  also  a  small  body  of  literature  inciting  the 
Church  to  the  evangelisation  of  Islam. 

But  there  is  not  to  any  perceptible  degree  a  literature  in 
European  languages  setting  forth  Christianity  to  Moslem 
readers.  Nor  is  there  a  literature  taking  cognisance  of  the* 
modern  methods  of  Moslem  propaganda,  with  their  imitations 
of  Christian  hymns  and  phraseology  and  their  protestations 
of  universal  charity.  The  European  nominal  Christian,  meet- 

[183] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


ting  such,  and  meeting  also  a  typical  ‘^missionary  book”  about 
Islam  is  too  apt  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  Moslem 
friends  have  been  libelled  by  the  missionary.  “What  -we 
chiefly  need,”  says  Dr.  Stanton,  “is  a  careful  list  of  construc¬ 
tive  books,  explaining  and  defending  the  Christian  faith  from 
a  modern  standpoint,  published  by  some  house  that  will  stock 
them  and  make  them  known.  We  must  provide  a  prophylactic 
for  unstable  Europeans  and  Americans  who,  not  having  tasted 
the  power  of  their  own  faith,  and  ignorant  of  the  real  char¬ 
acter  of  Islam,  are  carried  away  by  specious  arguments.” 

Another  aspect  of  literature  in  European  languages  which 
hardly  comes  under  this  Survey  but  is  closely  related  to  it,  is 
that  of  “missionary  literature,”  books  and  articles  sent  home 
from  Moslem  lands  for  the  information  and  inspiration  of  the 
Christian  Church.  This  education  of  the  home  Church  is  one 
of  the  burdens  upon  the  missionary  body.  It  is  now  neces¬ 
sarily  linked  with  the  prophylactic  referred  to  above,  and 
everyone  sitting  down  to  write  an  article  for  a  missionary 
magazine  must  bear  in  mind  the  kind  of  propaganda  favour¬ 
able  to  Islam  to  which  his  readers’  minds  may  have  been 
subjected. 

The  larger  question  of  a  literature  in  the  European  lan¬ 
guages  for  Moslems  themselves  throws  into  greater  relief 
some  of  the  other  proposals  made  in  the  survey. 

(1)  First,  the  appearance  in  India  or  elsewhere  of  up- 
to-date  Moslem  magazine  literature  in  European  languages  is 
a  challenge  to  the  Church  not  to  neglect  this  type  of  work.  It 
is  to  be  confessed  with  shame  that  Moslems  have  been  before 
us  in  centralising  their  journalistic  forces.  Articles  written 
for  the  Islamic  Review  appear  not  only  in  the  English  ver¬ 
sion  of  the  magazine  which  reaches  Syria,  Baghdad,  Mauritius, 
etc.,  but  also  in  Urdu,  Tamil,  Arabic  and  Javanese.  If  litera¬ 
ture  against  Christianity  is  so  published,  shall  we  not  be 
shamed  into  a  counter-unity?  Here  lies  the  importance  of  a 
Christian  press  bureau  for  the  development  of  Christian  jour¬ 
nalism  and  periodicals  in  the  Moslem  world.  (See  Chapter 
XIV,  Newspaper  Evangelism.) 

(2)  Secondly,  the  call  from  so  many  countries  for  small 
[184] 


EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES 


quantities  of  literature  in  European  languages  for  educated 
Moslems,  throws  into  fresh  importance  the  proposal  made  in 
so  many  quarters  for  a  central  literature  office  to  which  a  copy 
in  some  European  language,  as  well  as  a  vernacular  copy, 
shall  be  sent  of  each  publication  for  Moslems  produced 
throughout  the  world.  The  existence  of  such  copies  would 
make  possible  the  striking  off  of  small  local  editions  in  French, 
German  or  English  where  desirable.  The  best  provision  in 
English  of  literature  for  Moslems  is  that  of  the  Christian 
Literature  Society  for  India  which  makes  a  small  basic  edi¬ 
tion  for  translation  into  the  various  vernaculars. 

(3)  Thirdly,  the  small  numbers  of  Moslems  understand¬ 
ing  the  various  European  languages,  and  the  widely  separated 
areas  in  which  these  are  found  suggest  the  services  of  some 
central  circulation  agency.  Literature  committees  and  mission 
presses  in  important  language  areas  can  and  should  undertake 
their  own  plans  for  circulation.  But  a  central  bureau  might 
put  workers  in  isolated  language  areas  into  touch  with  the 
sources  of  supply. 


Chapter  XI 


AUTHORSHIP 

^AU  literary  work  done  on  the  foreign  field  should 
be  free  from  sectarian  prejudices  or  narrowness  of 
vision.  .  .  .  Literary  work,  however,  on  the  foreign 
field  also  includes  the  laying  of  foundations  for  the 
ethical  and  spiritual  faith  of  millions.  Needless  to 
say  the  one  who  undertakes  this  task  must  himself 
he  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  faith  once  for  all 
delivered  and  come  to  his  task,  not  with  the  interro¬ 
gation  points  of  doubt,  but  with  positive  convictions 
of  truth. — S.  M.  ZwEMER^  in  “Missionary  Prepara¬ 
tion  for  Literary  Work.’’ 

The  foregoing  chapters,  so  largely  a  record  of  aspirations, 
have  shown  that  every  language  area  reporting  aims  to-day  at 
a  literature,  a  whole  literature  that  shall  speak  the  mind  of 
Christ.  Simple,  it  may  be,  in  little  communities  whose  life 
is  simple,  but  rich  and  many-sided  in  communities  of  com¬ 
plicated  needs  and  interests.  The  men  who  know  best  have 
great  desires,  and  they  write  of  “urgency”  and  “unparalleled 
opportunity.” 

But  when  they  turn  to  set  down  their  plans  for  the  next 
few  years,  it  becomes  obvious  that  in  no  Moslem  country  are 
the  Christian  forces  mobilised  to  meet  the  “unparalleled  op¬ 
portunity”  for  bringing  the  mind  of  Christ  to  bear  on  Moslem 
minds. 


I.  Lack  of  Provision  for  Authorship 

Literature  has  been  treated  as  an  extra  and  incidental, 
rather  than  as  a  regular  and  normal  branch  of  a  mission’s 
[i86] 


AUTHORSHIP 


energy  and  expenditure.  Men  have  filched  time  out  of  busy 
lives  to  write  the  books  they  could  not  do  without.  Among 
the  appeals  for  doctors  and  teachers  to  serve  abroad,  the  mis¬ 
sion  boards  rarely,  if  ever,  call  for  men  and  women  to  spe¬ 
cialise  in  literary  service.  The  story  is  the  same  in  lands 
of  very  simple  pioneer  missionary  effort,  and  in  lands  of 
highly  organised  work  of  long  and  honourable  standing.  Thus 
from  the  little  isolated  mission  body  of  Southwest  Arabia 
comes  the  cry: 

“For  many  years  the  writer  has  been  praying  that  God 
would  send  him  a  clerical  colleague  who  would  be  able  to 
steep  himself  in  Arabic  literature,  and  so  learn  how  to  present 
the  Gospel  in  a  literary  way.  No  man  who  busies  himself  in 
curing  the  body,  or  in  teaching  an  English  school  will  ever 
be  able  to  do  this  properly.  Nevertheless,  in  the  writer’s 
opinion,  it  is  one  of  the  best  ways  of  winning  Moslems  to 
Christ.”  {Arabian  Report.) 

India,  with  her  venerable  and  highly  organised  missions, 
echoes  the  cry.  It  is  still  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule 
for  societies  to  set  apart  men  and  women  for  literary  work, 
and  there  is  scarcely  a  worker  in  all  India  whose  whole  time 
is  given  to  the  development  of  literature  for  Moslems. 

“There  is  no  provision  in  the  whole  India  field  for  the 
working  out  of  a  systematic  advance  in  the  provision  of  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  for  Moslems.  Everything  is  left  to  individual 
initiative  and  spasmodic  effort,  on  the  part  of  isolated  missions 
here  and  there.”  {Indian  Report.) 

^At  is  almost  universally  true  to  say  that  the  vernacular 
hooks  that  are  written  to-day  are  written  in  defiance  of  the 
claims  of  many  other  duties.''  ^ 

Even  in  the  best  served  countries,  such  as  Egypt  where 
the  preparation  of  Christian  literature  has  been  far  from  neg¬ 
lected,  there  is  a  sense  of  inadequacy  in  view  of  the  present 
need  and  opportunity. 

“It  may  be  stated  without  qualification,  that  a  widespread 
conviction  exists  within  all  missionary  circles  in  Egypt  that  the 
present  needs  and  opportunities  call  urgently  for  the  working 
^Clayton,  Christian  Literature  in  India. 

[187]' 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


out  of  an  adequate,  comprehensive  and  progressive  plan.  Con¬ 
fession  is  freely  made  that  literature  as  an  instrument  of  mis¬ 
sionary  service  has  been  inadequately  developed.  The  possi¬ 
bilities  of  using  Christian  literature  for  approaching  Moslems 
directly  are  literally  boundless. 

It  is  clear  that  there  is  a  plenteous  want  of  co-ordination 
in  the  forces  already  at  work,  and  that  the  present  societies 
are  not  separately  or  collectively  exploiting  all  the  resources 
they  might.  There  is  special  need  for  releasing  editorial  talent, 
both  native  and  foreign,  and  for  a  fresh  emphasis  on  the  crea¬ 
tive  elements  in  publication  work,  as  distinct  from  administra¬ 
tion.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

Now  as  never  before,  those  “creative  elements”  are  called 
for,  in  each  country  where  Christian  literature  is  to  reach  out 
and  touch  the  minds  and  lives  of  people  of  all  degrees.  But 
how  shall  creative  power  be  secured?  The  making  of  litera¬ 
ture  is  not,  like  its  publication  and  circulation,  a  matter  of 
skilled  organisation.  No  amount  of  organisation  can  produce 
gifts  of  imagination  and  of  sympathetic  insight.  There  is  an 
unaccountable  element  of  divine  fire.  It  is  a  matter  of  per¬ 
sonality.  In  the  average  home  communities,  comparatively 
few  have  marked  creative  gifts.  What  then  can  we  expect  in 
communities  so  very  small,  and  so  heavily  handicapped,  as 
those  of  our  mission  stations  and  the  Churches  connected 
with  them  in  Moslem  lands  ? 

We  get  perhaps  more  than  we  dare  expect.  But  in  view 
of  land  after  land  beginning  to  hunger  for  reading,  type  after 
type  and  class  after  class  of  readers,  myriad  minded,  waiting 
for  the  revelation  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God,  how  tiny  at 
best  must  be  the  total  number  of  minds  in  our  little  mission 
communities  marked  by  the  special  gifts  of  creative  thought, 
imagination  and  expression.  And  how  vital  a  matter  the 
securing  for  Christ’s  service  of  the  whole  sum  of  those 
precious  gifts,  wherever  they  may  be  found.  And  here,  at 
least,  organisation  has  its  part  to  play.  It  cannot  create  lit¬ 
erary  power,  but  it  can  help  to  conserve  it.  And  this  the 
reports  show  to  be  a  primary  necessity,  to  which  both  the 

[i88] 


AUTHORSHIP 

missions  and  their  home  boards  must  give  their  earnest 
attention. 


II.  The  Duty  of  the  Home  Church 

At  home  a  strong  policy  is  needed  in  every  mission  board 
concerned  with  Moslem  lands.  This  matter  of  literature  must 
be  got  into  the  prayers  and  thought  of  the  home  Church.  It 
is  strangely  ignored  in  both.  In  face  of  such  an  opportunity 
as  the  Moslem  world  presents  to-day,  should  we  not  pray  for 
the  call  and  inspiration  of  writers?  How  often  is  this  petition 
heard  in  intercession  meetings? 

There  must  be  a  recognition  by  the  home  boards  that  this 
matchless  opportunity  is  also  an  obligation,  and  their  obliga¬ 
tion,  to  preach  Christ  to-day  by  the  printed  page.  It  is  as 
much  their  business  to  secure  men  who  can  write  for  Christ, 
as  men  who  can  preach  for  Christ  or  heal  or  teach  for  Christ. 
This  can  be  no  extra,  but  a  normal  part  of  evangelisation. 
And  it  must  appear  as  such  in  appeals  for  candidates,  that 
young  men  and  women  of  writers’  gifts  may  hear  the  call. 
Until  every  mission  recognises  its  share  in  this  work,  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  meet  the  demand. 

There  must  be  a  corresponding  recognition  that  the  great 
need  cannot  be  met  unless  every  board  also  bears  its  share  in 
the  cost  of  production,  not  as  an  occasional  but  as  a  regular 
part  of  its  budget.  Mr.  E.  the  evangelist  may  be  wanted 
for  six  months,  to  write  a  book  that  shall  evangelise  far  be¬ 
yond  the  sound  of  his  spoken  voice;  or  Miss  T.  the  teacher 
may  be  wanted  for  two  years,  to  write  books  that  shall  teach 
far  beyond  the  walls  of  her  school.  And  such  books  may  be 
for  the  use  of  the  whole  mission  body,  not  of  one  board  or 
Church.  What  then  is  the  policy  of  the  home  board?  That 
policy  will  depend  on  two  things :  first  on  the  measure  to  which 
the  new  need  for  the  printed  message  of  Christ  is  recognised 
by  the  board,  and  secondly,  on  the  measure  of  their  recogni¬ 
tion  that  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  a  trust  for  the  use  of  the 
whole  Church.  To  refuse  a  bare  money  contribution  to 

[189] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


literature  is  one  thing,  and  a  serious  one.  But  to  refuse  to 
release  (even  at  great  loss  to  the  work  of  one  mission)  the 
creative  gifts  of  Miss  X.  or  Mr.  Z.  for  the  service  of  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  is  irreparable,  since  those  gifts  are  individual 
and  cannot  be  replaced.  Nothing  but  a  policy  of  unselfish 
generosity  on  the  part  of  all  home  boards,  each  conscious  that 
it  must  give  service  to  all  the  rest  and  accept  service  from 
them,  can  release  the  forces  needed,  native,  and  foreign,  to 
meet  the  unprecedented  situation. 

The  business  of  this  chapter  is  to  examine  the  information 
in  the  present  survey,  as  to  the  men  and  the  organisation 
needed  to-day  if  a  Christian  literature  is  to  be  created  for 
Moslem  lands. 


III.  Translators  or  Original  Writersf 

The  survey  shows  a  general  deprecation  of  translation, 
and  a  sense  that  it  can  be  only  a  poor  second  best. 

‘‘Our  existing  literature  has  this  fundamental  weakness, 
that  for  the  most  part  it  represents  merely  translation,  as  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  original  production.  It  reminds  one  of  the 
bucket  and  the  well,  rather  than  of  the  brook  or  the  fountain. 
Only  literature  which  really  comes  pulsing  from  the  very  heart 
of  a  people  will  make  that  heart  to  throb  again  with  a  new 
impulse.  To  interpret  is  to  interrupt  the  process  of  thought. 
Hitherto  our  Arabic  literature  has  been  for  the  greater  part 
translated,  either  from  western  originals,  or  from  the  original 
work  of  missionaries  written  in  English.”  {Egyptian 
Report.) 

Syria  also  reports  that  at  least  75  or  80  per  cent  of  its 
general  Christian  literature  represents  translation,  while  in 
Turkey  the  proportion  is  “at  least  85  per  cent.”  The  litera¬ 
ture  for  Moslems  published  in  China  and  Persia  is  practically 
all  translation.  India  is  exceptional  in  the  bulk  of  original 
work,  but  much  of  this,  though  original  in  one  Indian  lan¬ 
guage,  is  published  in  translation  in  other  Indian  vernaculars. 

There  has  been,  then,  a  preponderating  element  of  trans- 
[190] 


AUTHORSHIP 


lation.  Let  us  not  therefore  despair.  A  translation  may  even 
be  great  literature,  as  witness  the  Authorised  Version  of  the 
English  Bible.  At  least  the  reports  show  that  translation  need 
not  slavishly  adhere  to  foreign  idioms : 

“Nearly  all  the  literature  yet  produced  is  of  the  nature  of 
translation  work,  rather  than  original  production.  In  many 
cases,  however,  the  objections  to  a  slavish  translation  have 
been  avoided  by  making  the  new  work  an  adaptation  rather 
than  a  translation.  In  the  general  literature  which  the  Malays 
themselves  have  produced  in  the  last  300  years,  there  are  very 
few  original  works;  almost  everything  has  been  translated 
from  Arabic  or  Persian.”  {Malaysian  Report.) 

Such  literature  as  has  been  produced  here  is  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  translation  and  original  authorship.  The  book  to  be 
translated  is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  Moslems.  Direct  trans¬ 
lations  are  very  unsatisfactory  as  a  rule.  In  French  or  Eng¬ 
lish  originals  the  Christian  point  of  view  is  presupposed,  and 
the  purpose  of  an  excellent  book  in  English  may  be  entirely 
lost  on  Moslem  readers.  {North  African  Report.) 

The  translators  plainly  have  a  saving  sense  that  their  work 
is  a  second  best.  It  is  not  therefore  to  be  despised.  Much 
of  the  literature  so  far  has  necessarily  been  directed  to  meet¬ 
ing  Moslem  arguments,  and  in  books  of  sober  reasoning  the 
disadvantages  of  translation  are  less  felt  than  in  more  imagi¬ 
native  works.  In  some  other  cases,  too, — as  for  instance  when 
it  is  first  desired  to  make  children’s  books  in  a  language  with 
fixed  literary  forms,  none  of  them  adapted  to  little  children’s 
rhymes  and  tales, — translation  may  have  its  use  at  the  begin¬ 
ning.  A  translation  soaked  in  the  spirit  of  childhood  and 
also  in  the  spirit  and  idiom  of  an  eastern  language  may  inspire 
writers  to  attempt  a  new  literary  style  and  genre  in  their  own 
tongue,  as  they  realise  how  books  in  other  languages  have 
served  the  children. 

But  it  remains  broadly  true  that  for  the  more  creative 
kinds  of  work,  and  the  more  intimate  appeals  of  literature, 
translation  is  a  sorry  second  best.  For  stories  of  home  life, 
works  of  fancy  and  meditation,  for  personal  appeals  and 

[191] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


touches  of  humour,  above  all  for  the  poetry  that  we  need,  we 
must  have  creators  rather  than  translators. 


IV.  Eastern  or  Western  Authorship? 

To  whom  then  shall  we  look  for  authorship?  All  the  re¬ 
ports  are  agreed  that,  theoretically,  the  writer  should  be  one 
of  the  nation  for  whom  he  writes,  handling  his  mother  tongue 
with  an  intimate  freedom  that  no  foreigner  can  reach.  And 
again,  theoretically,  the  writers  best  able  to  help  the  Moslem 
should  be  converts  who  have  themselves  experienced  Islam 
from  within. 

“Other  things  being  equal  the  native  ought  to  be  able  to 
write  more  effectively  in  his  own  language  than  the  foreigner. 
The  pinch  comes  in  getting  other  things  equal.”  {North 
African  Report.) 

There  are  Moslem  countries  where,  as  yet,  the  tiny  body 
of  converts  from  Islam  cannot  produce  a  literature;  and  there 
are  lands  where  books  by  oriental  Christians  may  be  read  less 
respectfully  than  books  from  the  West. 

“We  have  only  the  Christians  of  the  old  Nestorian  and  other 
Churches  on  whom  to  draw.  One  or  two  such  are  co-operat¬ 
ing.”  {Arabian  Report.) 

“With  regard  to  native  authorship,  our  chief  difficulty  is 
that,  at  present,  there  are  no  Turkish  converts  trained  for 
literary  work.  Theoretically,  indigenous  authorship  ought  to 
be  more  effective,  and  in  Turkey  has  proved  to  be  so  in  con¬ 
nection  with  Armenian  and  Greek  publications;  but  so  far  we 
have  had  little  experience  of  indigenous  authorship  for  Mos¬ 
lems;  one  of  the  books  on  our  list  was  written  for  Moslems 
by  an  Armenian.  The  fact  that  he  was  an  indigenous  Chris¬ 
tian  seemed  to  place  his  work  on  an  even  more  unfavourable 
plane  than  if  it  had  been  written  by  a  foreigner.”  {Turkish 
Report.) 

Another  difficulty  reported  is  that  of  a  certain  immaturity 
in  the  literature  produced,  especially  by  converts.  As  of  old 
“not  many  wise  after  the  flesh”  are  called.  Many  converts 
[192J 


AUTHORSHIP 


may  come  only  from  the  first  or  second  generation  of  literacy 
in  families  long  illiterate. 

“Genius  may  create  an  exception  at  any  time ;  yet  a  com¬ 
munity  whose  ancestors  for  generations  have  been  entirely 
without  education,  cannot  as  a  rule  at  once  produce  writers 
capable  of  giving  mature  Christian  teaching.  The  converts 
are  not  many,  nor  of  very  long  standing;  and  up  to  the  pres¬ 
ent  they  have  been  good  aids  but  have  not  developed  any 
initiative  along  this  line.  They  have  as  yet  no  vision  as  to 
literature.”  {North  African  Report.) 

“A  fundamental  difficulty  is  the  mediocre  education  of 
many  of  our  men  and  women,  their  narrow  reading  and  conse¬ 
quently  unnourished  imagination.  Literature  produced  by 
Egyptian  Christians  is  often  immature.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

No  doubt  at  present,  in  lands  where  there  are  no  great 
libraries,  unless  of  Koranic  literature,  works  by  writers  with 
very  rudimentary  ideas  of  accurate  research  and  thought  must 
often  be  accepted,  in  the  hope  that  “a  poor  thing  but  mine 
own”  may  be  of  greater  service  than  a  better  thing  that  is  a 
foreign  product.  But  there  is  a  more  serious  immaturity  than 
that  of  intellect.  It  is  shown  in  a  sort  of  hardness  which 
may  prove  more  repellant  to  the  Moslem  than  even  the  for¬ 
eignness  of  the  western  writer’s  efforts. 

“For  the  most  part  the  work  that  has  been  done  by  Indian 
authors  has  been  of  a  controversial  nature;  and  the  chief 
efforts  on  the  side  of  the  sympathetic  approach  have  been 
made  by  missionaries,  as  for  example  Rouse  and  Sell.” 
{Indian  Report.) 

“Sometimes  there  is  real  need  of  education  as  to  the  out¬ 
look  of  the  Moslem  neighbors.  Many  Indian  Christian 
women  in  Northern  India  know  little  of  the  Moslem  point  of 
view.”  {Indian  Report.) 

“There  are  Syrian  writers  among  us  who  can  and  want 
to  write  for  Moslems.  But  the  hard  thing  is  to  find  those 
who  understand  the  Moslem’s  difficulties,  and  approach  them 
in  a  way  both  to  convince  and  to  win.  The  great  problem 
is  not  to  find  those  of  good  ability,  but  those  who  have  also 
a  zealous  and  loving  and  winsome  spirit.  {Syrian  Report.) 

[193] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Such  difficulties  can  only  drive  us  to  penitent  prayer  for 
those  Churches  in  the  East  that  have  grown  up  all  too  faith¬ 
fully  in  our  likeness.  Meanwhile,  in  places  where  writers  are 
not  yet  to  be  found  from  among  the  Christians  of  the  country, 
it  will  not  do  to  despair  of  the  westerner.  Not  all  books  by 
foreigners  sound  absurd  or  even  poor.  How  many  English¬ 
men  would  be  glad  of  the  power  to  write  English  like  that  of 
Rabindranath  Tagore ! 

“To  be  able  to  write  idiomatically,  so  as  to  take  hold  of  the 
mind  and  imagination  of  the  reader,  is  more  a  matter  of  ex¬ 
perience,  training  and  genius  than  of  race.”  {North  African 
Report,) 

V.  The  Present  Compromise;  Combined  Au¬ 
thorship 

The  present  policy  seems  one  of  compromise,  in  which 
an  eastern  and  a  western  writer  sit  side  by  side,  each  revising 
the  other’s  work.  The  immediate  result  as  literature  may  be 
rather  laboured;  the  books  so  built  up  must  show  the  chisel 
marks.  But  who  can  tell  the  ultimate  fruitfulness  of  such  a 
marriage  of  true  minds?  Every  such  combination  may  be 
a  training  ground  for  some  writer  of  power. 

“There  are  hardly  any  Christian  converts  from  Islam 
whose  mother-tongue  is  the  Malay  language,  or  who  use  that 
language  well  enough  to  write  it  effectively,  or  to  do  editorial 
work.  For  the  present  the  best  possible  arrangement  would 
probably  be  for  the  missionary  to  make  a  rough  draft  of  a 
tract  or  book,  and  then  turn  it  over  to  a  Malay  to  be  written 
again,  thus  giving  the  indigenous  touch.  The  work  might  then 
need  slight  modification,  which  could  be  made  without  spoiling 
the  style  of  the  writer.”  {Malaysian  Report.) 

“The  translations  were  made  by  a  competent  Chinese 
scholar,  but  one  who  was  not  a  Moslem,  and  was  unfamiliar 
with  Moslem  thought  and  phraseology.  When  each  trans¬ 
lation  was  finished,  the  manuscript  was  mimeographed  and 
copies  sent  to  converts  from  Mohammedanism  and  workers 
amongst  Moslems,  in  several  provinces.  Nevertheless,  in  spite 

[194] 


AUTHORSHIP 

of  this  care,  we  are  not  satisfied  with  the  translation.  {Chinese 
Report. ) 

“Most  of  the  work  required  at  the  present  day  should  be 
done  by  cultured  Indians  who  are  acquainted  with  Moslems 
and  their  faith  and  language.  Such  foreigners  as  are  familiar 
with  the  idiomatic  vernacular  might  be  asked  to  act  in  con¬ 
junction  with  the  Indian  writers  selected.  In  the  nature  of  the 
case,  some  of  the  best  work  is  to  be  expected  from  those  who 
are  themselves  converts  from  Islam,  and  they  should  be  asked 
to  write  in  collaboration  with  experienced  foreign  mission¬ 
aries.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  we  have  gifted  writers  who 
would  probably  make  a  larger  and  more  useful  output  if  they 
were  to  receive  more  encouragement  to-day.  We  certainly 
need  more  Indian  writers.  {Indian  Report.) 

The  same  discontent  is  manifest  everywhere  and  is  a  hope¬ 
ful  sign  for  the  future.  The  western  missionaries  are  con¬ 
vinced  that  in  matters  of  authorship  they  must  decrease  and 
their  eastern  brothers  must  increase. 

“We  have  employed  some  Arab  workers  in  translation 
from  Literary  Arabic  and  French  into  North  African  Arabic. 
As  soon  as  any  show  capacity  in  a  literary  direction,  we  should 
use  them  in  production  and  train  them  in  it.  Where  there  is 
an  abundance  of  zeal  and  life  it  will  manifest  itself  in  writing, 
even  to  the  breaking  through  of  some  old  forms.  We  long  to 
see  this  in  the  Arabic  world. 

“When  we  get  Spirit-filled  Arabs  to  do  original  work,  we 
shall  see  a  new  era  dawn.  There  is  a  power  of  poetry  and 
imagination  among  them  than  has  never  been  laid  under  con¬ 
tribution.’^  {North  African  Report.) 

“To  enlarge  or  enlist  the  number  of  really  first  class 
writers  of  original  Arabic  is  the  real  problem  of  the  Church 
in  the  mission  field.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 


VI.  Development  of  Authorship 

Various  suggestions  are  offered  for  the  development  of 
latent  literary  power. 


[195]. 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


The  Syrian  report  suggests  that  an  able  Syrian  editor 
should  be  engaged  who  should  have  besides  the  sense  of  use¬ 
fulness  to  his  nation,  “a  good  salary  and  a  career  of  promi¬ 
nence.”  One  is  forced  to  cry  out  that  a  sense  of  vocation 
and  a  passion  for  the  service  of  Christ  have  had  more  to  do 
with  the  production  of  the  great  Christian  classics.  Yet  money 
may  have  its  part  to  play  in  liberating  the  gifts  that  are 
needed  for  our  Lord’s  service. 

‘‘Perhaps  increased  funds  would  enable  us  to  train  writers.” 
{Chinese  Report.) 

“A  solution  of  the  problem  might  be  attempted  by  securing 
the  paid  time  of  writers,  or  by  offering  to  pay  for  finished 
manuscripts  on  assigned  topics;  but  both  these  methods  are 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  genius  and  furor  scrihendi.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  writers ;  those  who  have  to  write  something,  and 
those  who  have  something  to  write.  The  latter  only  are  worth 
reading  or  paying.  Yet  in  the  Orient  as  long  as  authorship 
is  unpaid,  we  shall  never  get  much  further — at  least  in  all 
higher  types  of  literature.  Likely  authors  must  be  encour¬ 
aged  to  write  by  the  knowledge  that  they  will  not  be  unre¬ 
munerated,  and  by  the  offer  of  fair  payment,  or  by  the  offer¬ 
ing  of  prizes  for  best  work.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

“Something  ought  to  be  done  at  the  little  native  confer¬ 
ences  that  are  held  here  and  there,  by  offering  a  prize  for  a 
short  tract  on  a  set  subject.  This  might  help  to  awake  un¬ 
conscious  powers.”  {North  African  Report.) 

“Co-operation  among  existing  agencies,  and  the  encour¬ 
aging  of  a  coterie  of  literary  workers  and  an  esprit  de  corps 
will  help  to  solve  the  problem.  Authors  must  also  be  sought 
out  and  engaged  when  found.  Promising  writers  in  schools 
and  colleges  must  be  noted  and  encouraged.  Reference 
libraries,  both  in  English  and  in  Arabic,  should  be  made  avail¬ 
able.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

A  more  daring  scheme  is  proposed  in  the  Report  of  the 
China  Educational  Commission  ig2i-22  from  which  we  quote : 

“The  report  of  the  National  Committee  of  the  Y.W.C.A. 
for  1921  contains  an  interesting  paragraph.  The  statement 
made  regarding  women  is  probably  a  little  more  extreme 
[196] 


AUTHORSHIP 


than  would  be  true  of  men,  but  not  much  more.  ‘Generally 
speaking,  the  literature  situation  in  China  is  critical  and  of 
central  significance  to  a  degree  which  could  not  obtain  in  a 
Western  country.  The  language  is  going  through  a  tremen¬ 
dous  upheaval,  comparable  only  to  what  happened  in  Europe 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  ability  of  girls  and  women  in  the 
field  of  writing  is  almost  as  undeveloped  and  unthought  of 
as  then;  we  face  an  overwhelming  need  for  modern  Chinese 
publications  and  it  is  probably  safe  to  say  that  there  is  not  a 
woman  in  China  who  would  as  yet  feel  herself  equipped  to 
write  well  in  the  new  form  of  expression.’ 

“In  view  of  this  situation,  few  steps  seem  more  urgent 
than  the  development  of  a  thoroughly  strong  School  of  Lit¬ 
erature  in  connection  with  some  centrally  located  college  or 
university,  which  shall  train  writers  for  all  types  of  literature, 
its  aim  being  to  prepare  thoroughly  equipped  writers  and 
editors,  in  whose  hands  the  printed  page,  be  it  in  newspaper, 
textbook,  novel,  magazine,  current  article  or  treatise,  shall  help 
to  infuse  all  China’s  life  with  the  Christian  ideals.  Special 
attention  should  be  given  also  to  translating  or  adapting  West¬ 
ern  material.  The  Commission  recommends  the  establishment 
of  such  a  school  in  connection  with  Peking  University.” 

How  far  could  these  paragraphs,  with  a  change  of  proper 
names,  be  applied  to  the  Moslem  lands  of  the  Near  and  Mid¬ 
dle  East?  From  their  own  statements  quoted  above,  it  is 
clear  that  the  missionaries  see  plainly  enough  the  need  for 
native  authorship,  and  bend  their  plans  towards  it.  It  is  also 
clear  that  the  Churches  in  Moslem  lands  are  not  yet  inspired, 
and  in  some  cases  not  yet  mentally  equipped  for  the  production 
of  literature.  For  the  moment,  the  hungry  readers  can  only 
be  fed  if  we  release  missionaries  for  the  special  work  of 
writing  and  of  such  a  type  of  editorship  as  shall  seek  to  find 
and  develop  indigenous  authorship. 

VII.  The  Problem  of  Production 

The  contributors  to  the  survey  were  asked  to  lay  down 
a  programme  of  advance,  each  for  their  own  area.  They 

[197], 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


were  ready  enough,  as  the  preceding  chapters  show,  to  describe 
the  books  immediately  needed.  But  when  it  came  to  setting 
down  a  programme  of  production,  they  had  to  confess  that  they 
were  not  mobilised  for  the  work.  One  and  all  they  cried  “give 
us  a  man.”  In  most  of  the  countries  reporting,  the  whole  pos¬ 
sibility  of  advance  in  production  is  hound  up  with  the  releas¬ 
ing  and  financing  of  literary  workers.  Such  measures  are 
reported  as  absolutely  vital.  In  some  countries  they  are  bound 
up  also  with  proposals  for  some  simple  co-operative  scheme, 
whereby  all  the  missions  share  in  the  work  to  be  done  and 
the  fruits  of  it. 

Let  each  field  speak  for  itself : 

CHINA 

The  problem  of  the  production  of  literature  for  Moslems 
in  China  will  not  be  solved,  until  the  Mission  Boards  set 
aside  competent  foreign  and  Chinese  writers  to  undertake 
this  work. 

ARABIA 

Worker  Needed:  “A  limited  staff,  both  foreign  and 
native,  makes  it  practically  impossible  at  present  to  desig¬ 
nate  workers  especially  for  this  task.  Although  the  Arabian 
Mission  has  allocated  Dr.  Zwemer  to  Cairo  for  literary  work 
in  the  intellectual  centre  of  Islam,  the  literary  worker  on  the 
spot  is  also  a  necessity.  Local  writers,  both  native  and  for¬ 
eign,  are  required  to  write  a  literature  in  the  local  vernacular, 
which  differs  from  Syrian  and  Egyptian  Arabic. 

Literature  should  be  considered  of  sufficient  importance 
for  the  assignment  of  a  missionary  with  natural  aptitude,  suffi¬ 
cient  training  and  missionary  experience  to  full  time  literary 
work.  Such  a  step  should  be  taken  as  possible,  for  there  is 
real  need.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “The  Arabian  Mission  has  an 
organised  Literature  Committee,  but  none  of  its  members  is 
able  to  give  full  time  to  literary  work.” 

The  Missions  in  Aden  report  no  provision  for  a  systematic 
production  of  literature  in  their  area.  “A  general  committee 
[198] 


AUTHORSHIP 


including  all  missions  to  Moslems  is  necessary  to  any  pro¬ 
gramme  of  advance,  to  secure  co-ordination  of  aim,  assign¬ 
ment  of  work  and  distribution  of  product.  The  budget  should 
be  included  in  the  regular  estimates  of  the  mission,  with 
special  expenditures  cared  for  by  special  grants  if  possible.” 

‘‘Our  writers  will  have  to  train  themselves,  with  such 
guidance  as  they  can  secure  by  study  and  correspondence. 
But  writers  that  inform  need  tools.  They  need  a  reference 
library,  the  apparatus  of  scholarship.  We  should  therefore 
endeavour  to  secure  for  the  Arabian  Mission  a  library  of 
standard  works  of  reference  and  sources  together  with  copies 
of  all  available  Christian  literature  for  Moslems.” 

SYRIA  AND  PALESTINE 

Worker  Needed:  “At  least  one  foreign  worker  would 
be  needed  to  superintend  such  work,  if  an  adequate  pro¬ 
gramme  were  to  be  undertaken;  and  special  additional  funds 
would  have  to  be  provided.  One  correspondent  thinks  that 
one  man  and  two  women  could  devote  all  their  time  with 
profit  to  the  provision  of  needed  literature.  If  the  various 
missions  here  realise  the  common  need,  it  is  likely  that  an 
author  or  authors  could  be  found.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “There  exists  a  United  Mission¬ 
ary  Conference  for  Syria  and  Palestine  through  which,  or  a 
committee  appointed  by  it,  hands  could  be  laid  upon  the  right 
authors.  The  United  Conference  might  well  have  a  com¬ 
mittee  to  superintend  the  work,  or  the  work  might  be  under¬ 
taken  in  connection  with  the  Beirut  Press,  if  it  develops  its 
proposals  for  becoming  a  union  agency.” 

NORTH  AFRICA 

Organisation  Needed:  “To  work  out  an  adequate 
programme  the  foreign  personnel  exists;  but  we  need  to 
raise  up  native  leaders.  The  first  essential  is  the  formation 
of  an  Inter-Mission  Committee  for  North  Africa.  It  seems 
essential,  at  the  outset  of  a  forward  movement,  to  distribute 
work  as  widely  as  possible.  The  joint  Committee  will  agree 

[199] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

upon  what  literature  shall  be  produced,  and  what  persons  or 
Societies  shall  assume  the  responsibility  of  preparing  specific 
pieces  of  work.  Manuscripts  of  proposed  publications  should 
be  circulated  for  suggestion  and  criticism  on  language  or  sub¬ 
ject, — this  in  order  to  get  the  most  satisfactory  work  possible 
to  serve  for  all  the  missions  publishing. 

A  common  list  of  all  literature  prepared  for  North  Africa 
should  be  made  and  kept  up  to  date  so  that  all  missionaries  may 
know  what  exists.” 


EGYPT 

Workers  Needed:  “In  recent  years  the  American  Chris¬ 
tian  Literature  Society  for  Moslems  has  been  anxious  to 
provide  for  every  well-advised  scheme,  and  those  on  the  field 
have  scarcely  been  able  to  provide  adequate  outlet  for  the 
society’s  zeal.  Given  adequate  leisure  to  those  missionaries 
and  helpers  who  have  proved  their  ability  to  produce,  an  ad¬ 
vanced  programme  is  possible,  otherwise  it  will  fail.  Societies 
must  set  apart  missionaries  for  this  purpose. 

The  fact  that  programmes  in  the  past  have  always  been 
far  beyond  the  financial  resources  or  the  staff  equipment, 
should  not  discourage  us.  The  new  day  for  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  has  come.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “Perhaps  a  major  cause  for 
insufficient  action  has  been  the  absence  of  a  satisfying 
plan  of  co-operation  which  might  bring  together  the  various 
forces  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  work  whose  highest  suc¬ 
cess  can  only  be  achieved  co-operatively.  Some  would  regard 
the  lack  of  funds  as  the  chief  deterrent;  financial  support  has 
indeed  been  inadequate  at  all  times  and  so  spasmodic  and 
unreliable  as  to  cut  the  nerve  of  a  continuous  and  progressive 
plan  and  policy.  The  programme  to  be  executed  is  an  ex¬ 
ceedingly  large  and  varied  one.  It  can  only  be  successfully 
accomplished  on  a  co-operative  basis,  for  its  execution  will 
require  the  most  liberal  distribution  of  time  and  talent  out  of 
the  personnel  and  constituency,  both  foreign  and  native,  which 
the  several  missionary  agencies  command. 

“These  missions  must  be  made  to  feel,  therefore,  that  they 
[200] 


AUTHORSHIP 

are  participating  vitally  in  the  formation  and  execution  of 
the  programme.” 

One  other  highly  important  paragraph  in  the  Egyptian 
report  must  be  quoted  in  full,  for  its  significance  extends  far 
beyond  Egypt: 

“Over  against  and  beyond  all  the  societies,  are  the  huge 
numbers  of  the  old  Eastern  Churches,  both  in  Syria,  Palestine 
and  Egypt,  without  a  single  publishing  agency  (Latins  ex¬ 
cepted),  without  adequate  organisation  or  direction  of  literary 
forces,  yet  with  enormous  possibilities  both  of  production  and 
reception.  Almost  nothing  has  been  done  to  seek  out  writers 
or  planners  from  among  them  and  to  give  the  latter  a  place 
in  our  councils.  Yet  even  under  these  conditions  Mr.  Upson, 
of  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  reports  that  a  number  of  members 
of  the  Oriental  churches,  particularly  of  the  Coptic  Church, 
are  in  personal  contact  with  him  and  send  far  more  manu¬ 
scripts  than  it  is  possible  for  the  Mission  Press  to  publish — a 
state  of  affairs  which  calls  to  us  to  devise  channels  large  enough 
to  admit  and  develop  their  service.  Difficult,  such  a  task  will 
undoubtedly  be,  yet  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  this  must 
come ;  and  any  new  organisation  should  be  such  as  would  from 
the  first  seek  to  bring  these  communities  and  their  needs  into 
vital  relationship  with  its  programme.  This  is  true  even  from 
the  standpoint  of  missions  to  Mohammedans  if  long  views  are 
taken  as  they  should  be.” 


TURKEY  AND  THE  BLACK  SEA  AREA 

Workers  Needed:  For  Turkey,  at  least  two  mission¬ 
aries,  a  man  and  a  woman,  with  literary  ability  and  an 
expert  knowledge  of  Islam,  should  be  set  aside  permanently 
for  literary  work. 

“The  problem  of  securing  the  time  of  authors,  or  devel¬ 
oping  a  force  of  competent  native  writers,  is  largely  a  question 
of  money. 

“The  American  Board  pays  the  salary  of  one  man  who 
is  supposed  to  give  all  his  time  to  the  oversight  of  publica- 

[201]: 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tion  work.  This  man  should  be  more  of  a  business  manager 
than  a  writer,  and  one  part  of  his  work  must  always  be  to 
secure  from  missionaries  well  thought  out  material  for  pub¬ 
lication;  where  this  would  involve  devoting  one’s  whole  time 
to  writing  for  a  certain  period,  either  long  or  short,  special 
permission  would  have  to  be  obtained  from  the  Mission  and 
the  Board,  but  this  could  probably  be  arranged  without 
difficulty.” 

Organisation  Needed:  'Tn  Bulgaria  a  Danish  Baptist 
Mission  has  begun  work  for  Moslems.  As  approximately 
half  a  million  Moslems  in  Bulgaria  use  Turkish,  a  plan  for 
co-operation  with  the  American  Board  workers  in  Turkey 
will  be  feasible  and  desirable.  Possibly  this  plan  could  be 
made  to  contemplate  work  for  all  the  Turkish-speaking  Mos¬ 
lems  in  the  Balkans. 

We  think  an  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  co-operation 
with  the  Russian  Church  as  soon  as  the  way  opens.  United 
effort  among  all  those  working  for  Turks  and  Tatars  should 
be  brought  about.” 


PERSIA 

Workers  Needed  :  ‘Tersonnel  must  be  developed.  Men 
cannot  come  straight  from  home  to  take  up  this  work. 
The  mission  staffs  must  therefore  be  kept  large  enough  to 
enable  us  to  set  aside  a  suitable  man  or  men  for  literary  work. 
Apparently  the  C.M.S.  are  still  shorthanded.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “The  Inter-Mission  Literature 
Committee  does  not  officially  represent  the  missions.  Its 
work  is  hampered  by  distance,  and  by  the  lack  of  active 
agencies  in  the  missions  and  lack  of  personnel  available.  The 
committee  has  no  authority  to  ask  individuals  to  take  up  lit¬ 
erary  work.  If  a  fixed  annual  sum  could  be  set  apart  for 
literature,  it  would  be  well  if  one  or  more  workers  from  abroad 
visited  Persia,  to  confer  and  advise  in  literary  work.  The 
present  committee  could  be  reorganised  in  such  a  conference, 
to  bring  it  into  representative  relation  with  the  literature 
agencies  abroad  and  the  societies  on  the  field.” 

[202] 


AUTHORSHIP 


INDIA 

Workers  Needed:  It  has  already  been  laid  down  as 
a  principle  by  the  Continuation  Committee  Conference  that 
‘‘In  every  language  area  a  missionary  should  be  especially  set 
apart  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  and  guiding  writers  of 
vernacular  literature.” 

Important  as  are  the  steps  made  in  this  direction,  they  do 
not  yet  provide  the  specialist  workers  needed  for  literature  for 
Moslems. 

“The  highly  successful  plan  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  in  India, 
of  having  a  special  literature  secretary  in  the  person  of  Dr. 
Farquhar,  who  gives  his  whole  time  to  the  production  of  lit¬ 
erature  and  the  securing  of  writers  for  definite  pieces  of 
work,  leads  us  most  hopefully  to  urge  the  following  ap¬ 
pointment  : 

Whole  Time  Secretary:  The  work,  to  be  done  prop¬ 
erly,  would  require  that  there  be  one  full  time  Literary 
Secretary  for  Moslem  work  responsible  to  the  National  Mis¬ 
sionary  Council,  with  a  budget  at  his  disposal,  in  order  to 
enable  him  to  carry  out  office  work  and  the  subsidising  of 
authors.  He  should  also  act  as  editor-in-chief  of  new  litera¬ 
ture  and  revisions  of  existing  literature. 

Temporary  Workers:  We  would  recommend  that  a 
central  body  be  constituted  for  all  India,  composed  of 
experts  in  the  matter  of  literature  for  Moslems;  and  that 
this  body,  having  before  it  the  more  urgent  needs,  approach 
certain  persons  with  a  view  to  getting  them  to  take  in  hand 
a  definite  piece  of  work;  and  approach  also  the  bodies  with 
which  such  persons,  Indian  or  foreign,  are  connected,  to  secure 
their  release  during,  say,  a  number  of  months,  for  the  comple¬ 
tion  of  the  task.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “Where  there  is  no  plan  and 
no  programme,  no  knowledge  of  a  wider  need,  no  direc¬ 
tion  and  supervision  of  writers,  work  may  be  done  in  a  corner, 
published  and  put  on  the  market,  before  opinions  have  been 
sought  as  to  the  need  for  a  book,  or  criticisms  asked  about  the 
style  or  treatment.  Good  work  could  have  been  made  more 

[203] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


acceptable  to  workers  and  to  Moslems  alike  had  there  been 
consultation  prior  to  publishing.” 

central  body  in  India,  with  a  knowledge  of  both  the 
more  immediate  and  future  needs,  and  informed  as  to  the 
people  able  and  willing  to  write,  ought  to  make  it  possible  for 
a  number  of  books  on  different  subjects  to  be  written  during 
the  next  few  years,  in  such  a  way  as  to  serve  the  whole  area 
under  review.  Such  books  could  be  printed  by  the  hundred 
thousand,  and  at  a  much  lower  price  than  if  published  by  a 
single  body.  We  need  in  addition  to  the  National  Missionary 
Council’s  Special  Committee  on  Literature,  another  Committee 
for  Literature  for  Moslems.  This  would  provide  the  author¬ 
ity  and  machinery  and  talent.  It  is  imperative  that  the  work 
of  preparing  and  carrying  through  an  adequate  programme 
be  at  once  set  in  motion  by  the  Committee  on  Work  among 
Moslems.” 


MALAYSIA 

Workers  Needed:  “Those  who  can  effectively  pro¬ 
duce  literature  are  so  valuable  and  so  scarce,  that  the  mis¬ 
sions  ought  to  see  that  it  is  in  the  best  interests  of  the  work 
as  a  whole,  that  such  men  and  women  be  set  free,  to  some 
extent,  from  other  duties,  so  as  to  have  time  and  strength 
to  devote  to  this  most  important  enterprise.  The  missionaries 
who  are  capable  of  doing  so  should  train  natives  who  may 
show  any  aptitude  for  this  kind  of  work.  And  they  should 
be  adequately  supported,  either  by  individual  missions,  or, 
better  still,  by  some  interdenominational  agency  supported 
by  all  the  Churches.” 

“In  the  Malay  Peninsula  we  have  sufficient  plan,  though 
insufficient  funds  for  production.  The  great  limitation  is  the 
lack  of  qualified  missionaries  to  do  the  writing  and  editorial 
work.” 

Organisation  Needed:  “Owing  to  the  war  and  other 
adverse  circumstances,  there  has  never  been  any  co-opera¬ 
tion  between  the  missionaries  in  the  Dutch  and  British 
areas,  in  the  matter  of  producing  and  distributing  Christian 
literature.”  Within  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  however,  there  is 
[204] 


AUTHORSHIP 


now  a  joint  committee  on  literature,  which  has  adopted  a 
programme  for  a  forward  movement.  A  number  of  able 
writers  might,  with  more  co-operation,  be  laid  under  con¬ 
tribution. 

Such  are  the  next  steps  for  securing  authorship  as  seen  in 
one  Moslem  land  after  another. 

Between  the  Christian  Church  and  her  duty,  nay,  between 
the  Christian  Church  and  such  an  opportunity  as  our  fathers 
prayed  for  and  never  saw,  lies  first,  the  need  of  releasing  and 
financing  a  handful  of  workers,  and  secondly,  the  need  of  some 
simple  organisation  bringing  all  the  societies  in  any  one  field 
into  relationship  with  that  task  of  literature  production  which 
none  is  strong  enough  to  do  alone.  Such  a  linking  of  the 
available  forces  in  counsel  gives  to  each  home  board  the  assur¬ 
ance  that  the  men  and  the  money  which  it  surely  now  must 
regularly  budget  for  literature,  will  be  used  as  the  united 
wisdom  and  the  need  of  the  whole  field  shall  determine.  It 
gives  a  similar  guarantee  to  those  societies,  outside  the  ordi¬ 
nary  mission  boards,  which  supply  grants  for  Christian  litera¬ 
ture.  God  forbid  that  our  weariness  and  distrust  of  further 
organisation  should  hold  back  the  Bread  of  Life,  while  ‘hhe 
hungry  sheep  look  up  and  are  not  fed.” 


Vlll.  Different  Language  Areas 

But  the  missionaries  ask  for  something  further.  In  many 
lands  and  many  languages  similar  material  is  needed;  as  for 
instance,  tracts  meeting  common  difficulties  like  the  objection 
to  the  term  “Son  of  God” ;  or  stories  of  lives  lived  or  laid 
down  for  Christ;  or  notes  for  Moslems  on  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  There  is  a  strong  feeling  that  with  our  present  lack 
of  writers  trained  in  knowledge  of  the  Moslem  mind,  the 
thinking  and  the  writing  done  in  one  country  should  be  shared 
by  others.  This  is  no  new  idea.  In  December,  1911,  Mr. 
A.  T.  Upson,  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Lucknow  Literature 
Committee,  sent  a  letter  to  the  chief  missionary  committees  in 
Moslem  lands,  asking  that  English  translations  of  articles 

[205] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


published  in  their  fields  might  be  transmitted  to  The  Moslem 
World  for  insertion  in  an  Exchange  column. 

Not  a  great  deal  came  of  the  suggestion  then,  although 
the  wide  translation  of  a  few  tracts,  such  as  those  of  Dr. 
Rouse  or  Mr.  Upson’s  Khuthas,  shows  that  exchange  has  not 
been  unknown.  Now  there  is  a  unanimous  cry  for  a  further 
development  of  this  scheme,  through  some  central  clearing¬ 
house.  All  may  benefit  to  some  extent;  but  it  is  the  workers 
among  isolated  groups,  too  small  to  produce  their  own  writers, 
that  will  gain  the  most.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Conti¬ 
nent  of  Africa.  The  one  or  two  missionaries  to  some  tribe  in 
the  path  of  the  advance  of  Islam,  are  men-of-all-work.  They 
cannot  find  the  time  for  authorship;  indeed  it  is  only  here  and 
there  that  the  pioneer  missionary  can  add  the  gift  of  writing 
to  his  other  gifts.  What  might  be  done  with  the  help  of  some 
central  clearing  house  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  one  primer  on 
hygiene,  prepared  on  the  Congo,  by  a  missionary  who  had  the 
gift  of  writing  for  Africans,  is  being  translated  into  48 
African  languages.  One  man  or  woman  of  gifts  can  thus 
save  the  time  and  energy  of  scores  of  colleagues  whose  people 
have  the  same  needs. 

Here  are  the  proposals  of  the  missionaries: 

ARABIA 

“This  field  would  ask  for  tabulation  and  sifting  of  all 
existing  literature  for  Moslems,  so  that  all  publications  could 
be  available  for  all.  There  should  be  a  general  committee 
of  literature  for  Moslems,  with  which  the  field  committee 
should  be  connected.  A  department  for  such  a  committee  in 
The  Moslem  World  would  be  of  great  help.” 

INDIA 

“Because  of  the  need  of  translations  in  several  vernaculars 
we  suggest  that  as  a  rule,  an  English  text  may  be  so  prepared 
as  to  be  readily  available  for  such  translation. 

[206] 


AUTHORSHIP 


Basic  manuscripts  prepared  in  English,  and  sent  to  all  the 
fields  for  translation  into  the  local  vernaculars  might  well  be 
experimented  with.  The  India  committee  recommend  that 
this  be  given  a  trial. 

The  central  body  in  India  should  be  in  touch  with  a 
representative  body  for  the  whole  world,  and  exchange  basic 
manuscripts  in  English.  India  would  wish  to  receive  informa¬ 
tion  concerning  books  and  tracts  used  in  other  fields,  and 
methods  of  production  and  distribution  of  literature  em¬ 
ployed  elsewhere.” 


TURKEY 

‘Tt  is  our  hope  and  expectation,  that  this  Survey  will 
bring  us  into  direct  co-operation  with  other  organisations 
engaged  in  the  production  of  Christian  literature  for  Moslems 
in  the  Near  East  and  elsewhere. 

“If  the  plan  of  having  a  central  agency,  to  serve  all  Mos¬ 
lem  fields  in  providing  Christian  literature,  is  carried  out,  the 
necessary  adaptations  of  English,  or  other  European  originals, 
could  be  made  before  the  material  is  handed  to  our  translators 
here.  In  this  way,  a  great  part  of  the  objections  to  the  use  of 
translations  would  be  obviated.  Our  Committee  would  like 
to  see  the  plan  tried  of  having  basic  manuscripts  prepared  in 
English,  to  be  sent  from  one  field  to  another.  But  it  should 
be  understood  that  the  translations  made  should  be  adaptations 
rather  than  literal  translations.” 


SYRIA 

“It  should  be  thoroughly  practicable  to  send  out  basic 
manuscripts  in  English  to  various  Moslem  fields  for  transla¬ 
tion.  The  testimony  of  a  Moslem  convert,  for  example,  would 
be  valuable  wherever  Moslems  are  interested.  Good  biog¬ 
raphies  and  wholesome  stories  could  be  made  available  in  this 
way  too.  If  this  material  could  be  manifolded  on  a  mimeo¬ 
graph,  for  example,  it  could  be  made  widely  available.” 

[207] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


EGYPT 

“All  boards  or  societies  which  publish  should  be  regis¬ 
tered  by  some  central  agency.  Then  every  such  board  or 
society  should  possess  the  list  of  all,  with  secretaries’  names. 
A  copy  of  everything  published  in  each  should  be  sent  to  all  as 
a  matter  of  course. 

“Basic  manuscripts  prepared  in  English  should  be  sent 
from  one  field  to  the  other,  for  translation  and  use  in  that 
field.” 


NORTH  AFRICA 

“If  there  were  a  central  committee  for  the  whole  Moslem 
world,  publishing  news  of  all  literature  prepared  for  Moslems, 
and  other  general  information,  it  would  be  a  great  boon. 

'‘The  Moslem  World  should  have  an  active  Literature 
Department.  Every  new  publication  touching  Islam,  every 
new  piece  of  literaure,  down  to  the  smallest  tract  should  be 
mentioned  and  catalogued,  and  the  list  published,  as  a  supple¬ 
ment  or  separate  inset.  All  new  publications  could  be  noticed, 
and  an  annual  list  be  published.  Nothing  would  be  too  in¬ 
significant  for  inclusion,  as  some  of  the  simplest  literature 
reaches  the  largest  numbers. 

“The  preparation  of  basic  manuscripts  in  English,  printed 
if  possible,  would  enable  all  fields  to  benefit  from  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  other  fields,  or  from  the  study  of  some  specialist. 
A  central  receiving  office  should  be  decided  upon,  preferably 
in  Cairo.” 

CHINA 

“We  should  be  glad  to  receive  literature  in  English  for 
translation  into  Chinese.  Basic  manuscripts,  prepared  in 
English  and  sent  from  one  field  to  another,  would,  we  think, 
be  of  immense  service  to  us  here.  The  peculiarity  of  this 
field  is  that  Moslems  congregate,  and  their  influence  is  most 
felt,  in  the  province  of  Kansu  and  beyond.  Our  most  experi¬ 
enced  workers  are  also  stationed  in  this  province;  but  the 
preparation  and  publication  of  manuscripts  is  carried  on  in 
[208] 


AUTHORSHIP 


Shanghai,  where  facilities  for  that  kind  of  work  exist  in 
greater  measure  than  elsewhere.  The  consequence  is  that  we 
in  Shanghai  are  working  at  least  looo  miles  from  our  base, 
and  that  those  who  have  charge  of  the  publication  work  are 
not  those  who  know  most  about  Moslem  needs. 

“We  realise  the  advantage  it  would  be  to  have  a  man  ex¬ 
perienced  in  the  evangelisation  of  Moslems  stationed  in 
Shanghai,  but,  so  far,  we  have  not  been  able  to  secure  such. 
Workers  are  so  few  that  the  Boards  will  not  spare  a  man  for 
this  purpose,  and  workers  themselves  feel  the  call  of  the 
Moslem  field  to  be  so  strong  that  they  are  loath  to  stay.  The 
suggested  basic  manuscripts,  prepared  by  men  who  have  been 
and  are  in  touch  with  Moslem  work,  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
Moslem  field,  might  be  of  great  service  to  us.” 

MALAYSIA 

“There  should  be  a  central  clearing  house  for  all  literature 
for  Moslems  produced  in  all  the  countries  of  the  world.  This 
clearing  house  should  be  either  in  London  or  New  York  or 
both.  Copies  of  all  literature  now  in  existence  in  all  lan¬ 
guages,  with  English  translations  of  the  same,  should  be  kept 
on  file  at  the  clearing  house,  and  should  be  available  when 
needed  for  translation  into  other  languages. 

“Manuscript  English  translations  should  be  made  of  every 
tract  or  book  published  in  any  mission  field.  About  five  car¬ 
bon  copies  could  be  made  of  such  manuscripts,  one  of  which 
must  always  remain  on  file  in  the  clearing  house  mentioned, 
the  other  copies  being  available  to  be  sent  to  any  other  field. 

“In  connection  with  such  a  central  agency,  there  should  be 
experienced  missionaries,  and  scholars  with  special  knowledge 
of  the  Mohammedan  situation  who  could  give  advice  as  to  any 
modifications  which  it  would  seem  advisable  to  make  in  future 
editions  or  translations,  in  regard  to  matter,  style  and  char¬ 
acter.  The  outlying  fields,  where  pioneer  literary  work  is  being 
done,  would  greatly  benefit  by  such  advice  and  co-operation 
from  those  who  for  decades  have  had  the  opportunity  of  study¬ 
ing  the  literature  and  life  of  Islam  in  Egypt,  Arabia  and  other 
places  nearer  the  centre  of  Moslem  influence.” 


[209] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


IX.  Summary 

These  suggestions  for  inter-field  contacts  fall  under  four 
main  heads : 

1.  There  should  be  some  central  committee  for  literature 
for  Moslems,  linking  up  the  various  field  committees  and 
undertaking  the  business  of  the  clearing  house  suggested 
above. 

2.  Existing  literature  for  Moslems  should  be  collected, 
tabulated  in  a  complete  catalogue,  and  specimens  should  be 
held  in  a  central  place  available  for  all. 

3.  Future  literature,  down  to  the  smallest  tract  in  the 
smallest  field,  should  be  catalogued  by  some  central  body, 
which  will  from  time  to  time  publish  supplementary  catalogues 
and  will  hold  specimens  of  all  the  listed  literature : 

4.  Future  literature  should  be  prepared  with  a  version 
in  some  European  language,  and  this  should  be  available, 
through  a  central  clearing  house,  for  translation  in  any  other 
field. 

Like  all  co-operative  schemes,  these  must  fall  through, 
unless  some  responsible  person  or  persons  are  set  apart  to 
work  them.  The  danger  of  such  schemes,  even  where,  as  here, 
they  are  generally  desired,  is  that  being  everybody’s  business 
they  are  no  one’s  first  concern.  The  Church  in  Moslem  lands 
is  too  poorly  staffed  to  risk  any  scheme  that  will  mean  energy 
thrown  away.  It  is  also  plain  that  she  feels  herself  too  weak 
to  work  in  continued  isolation  when  she  might  work  unitedly. 
The  only  alternative  is  to  put  through  a  co-operative  plan, 
with  a  deliberate  counting  of  the  cost  and  proper  staffing  from 
the  first. 

^‘Christians,”  said  a  Moslem  newspaper  in  Calcutta,  “are 
not  marching  on  us  to-day  with  unsheathed  sword  to  shed 
streams  of  blood,  but  with  peaceable  methods  which  are  a 
thousands  times  more  deadly.  First  of  all  they  are  urging  the 
need  for  Christian  unity.” 


[210] 


Chapter  XII 


PUBLICATION 

Learning  hath  gained  most  by  those  hooks  by 
which  the  printers  have  lost. — Fuller,  in  “Holy  and 
Profane  State*’' 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  need  for  literature  has  so  pressed 
itself  home  upon  the  mission  circle  in  some  Moslem  land  that 
Mr.  A.  has  used  his  holiday  weeks  to  translate  a  story  for 
his  boys;  Miss  B.  has  hammered  out  some  rhymes  that  con¬ 
vey  a  gospel  story  to  an  audience  of  village  women;  ‘Abdullah 
has  written  a  controversial  work;  Dr.  X.  has  put  together 
some  lectures  to  hospital  helpers ;  and  some  one  else  has  nearly 
ready  a  commentary  on  Philippians,  or  a  design  for  a  wall 
text. 

But  who  is  to  be  the  publisher? 

A  publisher  has  three  main  relationships :  with  authors 
and  artists;  with  the  printing  trade;  with  the  bookselling 
trade. 

The  third  relationship,  that  touching  distribution,  the  crux 
at  which  our  best  laid  plans  might  fail,  is  so  important  that 
it  will  be  considered  in  a  separate  chapter.  We  will  try  now 
to  consider  the  publication  of  Christian  literature  for  Moslems, 
in  its  first  two  relationships  only. 

In  the  exceedingly  wasteful  past  the  man  who  woke  up 
with  an  idea  for  a  new  leaflet  first  filched  the  time  from  other 
duties  to  write  it;  then  wrote  begging  letters,  to  individuals 
or  to  societies  that  give  grants-in-aid,  for  money  to  produce 
it;  then  carried  it  in  triumph  to  the  local  press,  and  haggled 
more  or  less  successfully  over  price  and  paper;  then  corrected 
grubby  proofs,  and  almost  sat  over  the  machine,  until  he  could 
bear  home  in  triumph  his  couple  of  thousand  leaflets,  pro- 

[211] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


duced  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  His  brethren  of  his  own 
society  knew  what  he  was  doing,  and  helped  in  distribution; 
but  his  brethren  in  other  societies  might  or  might  not  know. 
If  they  did  learn  of  the  tract  and  ask  for  copies,  the  author- 
publisher  despatched  their  orders,  and  turned  accountant  as 
he  made  out  the  bills. 

The  report  from  North  Africa  shows  that  this  individual¬ 
istic  man-0 f -all- work  method  is  not  obsolete.  But  it  is  terribly 
wasteful.  It  means  the  burial  of  the  very  man  with  the  in¬ 
spiration  and  the  creative  impulse  that  literature  so  sorely 
needs,  under  the  details  of  cost  of  paper,  size  of  edition, 
storage,  the  finding  of  money  to  pay  the  printer,  and  the  col¬ 
lecting  of  money  from  sales.  It  was  the  method  of  the 
pioneers  who  had  to  be  jacks-of-all-trades;  but  the  reports 
show  that  no  one  to-day  is  content  that  it  shall  continue.  Each 
report  in  turn  suggests  that  the  publisher  on  his  editorial  side, 
— he  who  seeks  for  manuscripts  and  decides  upon  their  pub¬ 
lication, — shall  be  a  central  literature  committee  for  each  field, 
with  an  officer  who  can  give  full  time  to  the  details  of  the 
work. 


7.  The  Literature  Committee  as  Publisher 

Every  area  aspires  after  its  own  literature  committee  (in 
some  cases  committees)  to  which  Miss  B.  can  send  her  story, 
‘Abdullah  his  controversial  work  and  Mr.  X.  his  commentary. 
Such  a  committee  will  also  take  the  initiative,  as  does  a  pub¬ 
lisher  in  Europe,  and  urge  upon  Miss  B.  to  write  another 
story,  and  upon  her  society  to  set  her  free  to  do  so.  The  com¬ 
mittee  will  thus  be  the  agent  for  the  finding  and  payment  of 
authors.  Consequently,  upon  the  committee  will  fall  also  the 
task  of  telling  Miss  B.  that  her  new  story  needs  shortening  by 
one-third,  to  bring  it  to  a  more  saleable  length;  or  of  per¬ 
suading  ‘Abdullah  to  deal  his  hard  knocks  with  more  of  love 
and  modesty.  So  far,  a  publication  committee  represents  a 
publisher  and  his  “readers”  in  their  relationship  with  the  crea¬ 
tive  people, — the  writers  and  artists. 

[212] 


PUBLICATION 


Where  there  is  only  one  such  committee  in  a  given  area,  it 
is  important  that  it  represent  all  the  elements  of  Christian 
thought  and  work  in  those  parts.  In  some  cases  this  is  all 
but  accomplished.  Thus  the  Arabian  Mission,  representing 
by  far  the  greatest  output  of  work  in  the  Peninsula,  has  a  well 
organised  literature  committee.  It  cannot  feel  satisfied,  how¬ 
ever,  that  it  is  carrying  out  the  task  for  the  whole  area,  until 
it  has  linked  up  with  the  smaller  missions  in  the  Southwest. 

“A  general  committee  including  members  from  all  mis¬ 
sions  to  Moslems  is  necessary  to  any  programme  of  advance, 
to  secure  co-ordination  of  aim,  assignment  of  work  and  dis¬ 
tribution  of  product.’^  (Arabian  Report.) 

In  the  same  way  the  American  Board,  by  far  the  largest 
producer  in  Turkey  and  the  Balkan  area,  and  already  organ¬ 
ised  with  its  own  literature  committee,  looks  forward  to  united 
work  with  the  newer  and  smaller  Danish  Mission  in  Bul¬ 
garia,  and  even  lives  in  hope  of  linking  up  one  day  with  the 
publication  energies  of  the  Orthodox  Church  for  Russian 
Moslems. 

Some  areas  cannot  be  effectively  served  by  one  committee 
only.  Thus  the  report  for  Malaysia,  which  after  all  is  no 
unity,  but  an  aggregation  of  various  races  and  faiths,  points 
out  that  conditions  on  the  Peninsula  and  in  Java,  for  instance, 
call  for  very  different  planning.  The  Dutch  and  British  Gov¬ 
ernments  have  added  to  the  difficulty  of  joint  work  by  adopt¬ 
ing  different  systems  of  spelling  in  Romanised  Malay, — a  real 
hardship  to  those  who  can  only  just  read. 

“A  thoroughly  representative  committee  from  the  various 
missions  that  are  working  in  Java  ought  to  be  able  to  work 
out  an  adequate  program  for  Java,  South  Sumatra  and  South 
Borneo.  In  the  Malay  Peninsula,  North  Sumatra  and  North 
Borneo  local  conditions  are  so  entirely  different  that  it  would 
be  found  necessary  to  organise  a  distinct  committee  with  head¬ 
quarters  at  Singapore.”  (Malaysian  Report.) 

Here  the  desideratum  seems  to  be  some  close  link  between 
two  committees;  such  as  an  annual  conference  of  leaders,  for 
exchange  of  ideas  and  plans,  that  the  thinking  and  as  far  as 
possible  the  authorship  may  be  shared  by  the  whole  area. 

[213] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Again,  the  conditions  in  Arabic  lands  seem  to  show  the 
need  for  local  committees  in  each  area,  such  as  are  suggested 
in  the  reports  from  Syria,  North  Africa  and  Arabia,  special¬ 
ising  on  the  discovery  and  encouragement  of  local  authorship, 
and  the  adaptation  of  literature  to  local  needs  and  local  ver¬ 
nacular  Arabic.  But  the  reports  show  at  the  same  time  a  real 
interdependence  between  the  various  Arabic  lands,  and  state 
most  definitely  the  need  for  some  link  between  the  literary 
workers  or  committees  in  the  diiferent  Arabic  countries. 

In  these  Arabic  lands,  where  literature  for  Moslems  has 
been  for  some  time  attempted,  it  is  interesting  to  note  how 
the  different  bodies  (as  for  instance  the  Algiers  Mission  Band, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Algeria,  the  American 
Press  Beirut,  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  the  C.M.S.,  the  World’s 
Sunday  School  Association  and  the  Egypt  General  Mission) 
have  already  struck  out  lines  of  contribution  different  from 
their  brethren,  each  bearing  the  stamp  of  individuality,  much 
as  does  the  work  of  the  numerous  religious  publishers  in 
Britain  or  America.  No  reasonable  person  considers  the 
various  religious  publishing  societies  in  America  or  Great 
Britain  as  necessarily  rivals.  Each  caters  for  different  needs. 
Still  less,  where  the  total  output  is  so  very  small,  can  we  see 
rivalry  in  the  variety  of  Christian  publishing  bodies  in  the 
Arabic  world.  Rather  must  differences  of  mental  colour  and 
mode  of  expression  of  the  good  news  be  hailed  with  joy.  We 
covet  for  the  work  of  Christ  all  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  Each 
group  serves  the  whole  best  by  being  most  itself.  And  even 
as  we  plan  for  closer  co-ordination  and  brotherhood  in  our 
task,  we  must  beware  of  any  scheme  for  united  work  that 
hampers  the  creative  impulse  of  any  unit  in  the  group. 

“The  very  fact  that  certain  existing  agencies  possess  a 
special  and  distinctive  character  which  disqualifies  them,  as 
they  now  stand,  from  becoming  central  publishing  agencies 
for  the  whole  missionary  movement — this  very  fact  imparts 
to  these  agencies  a  peculiar  advantage  in  the  performance  of 
work  which  lies  legitimately  within  the  sphere  of  their  spe¬ 
cialty  ;  whether  this  specialty  be  linguistic,  dialectic,  theological, 
literary,  imaginative  or  editorial  work,  or  even  that  of  mechan- 
[214] 


METHODIST  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  AT  SINGAPORE 

One  of  the  Largest  Printing  Presses  in  the  Mission  Field 


INDUSTRIAL  PRINTING  PRESS  OF  THE  RHENISH  MISSION  AT  LAGOEBOTI,  SUMATRA 

This  Press  Prints  Two  IMagazines,  and  in  1921  had  a  Total  Output  of  2,500,000 
Pages 


^ y. '  .  'X- ^  ^  ■ ' 'Vv  ’  'v 

-  ^  *  . .  “  -7'..^':..,  wiArf.- ^ 


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PUBLICATION 


ical  production  of  literature.  The  programme  is  too  large 
and  the  resources  too  limited  to  permit  the  scrapping  of  any 
existing  forces  or  the  diminishing  of  their  work.”  {Egyptian 
Report. ) 

In  the  vast  Indian  field  the  machinery  for  publication  is 
well  developed.  Provincial  surveys  were  recently  made  of 
the  needs  and  provision  of  Christian  literature  in  twelve  lan¬ 
guage  areas,  and  in  each  of  these  areas  co-operative  literature 
committees  have  been  appointed.  That  is  an  immense  advance, 
which  is  already  bearing  notable  fruit.  But  as  regards  litera¬ 
ture  for  Moslems,  a  further  step  is  needed.  For  the  majority 
of  these  literature  committees  are  appointed  for  great  areas, 
in  which  the  Moslem  population  forms  only  a  small  proportion 
of  the  whole.  The  general  task  is  so  great  and  absorbing 
that,  without  special  help,  these  committees  may  be  tempted 
to  overlook  the  specialised  needs  of  the  Moslem  fraction  of 
the  community.  It  is  therefore  suggested  that  the  Special 
Committee  for  Work  among  Moslems  which  forms  part,  as 
do  the  provincial  literature  committees,  of  the  machinery  of 
the  National  Missionary  Council,  become  a  Central  Committee 
for  Literature  for  Moslems  in  India,  supplying  the  provincial 
literature  committees  with  material  and  inspiration  for  this 
part  of  their  task.  No  new  organisation  is  needed,  but  only 
the  shouldering  of  a  new  task  by  the  Special  Committee,  and 
the  setting  apart  of  one  man  to  give  full  time  to  this  central 
work. 


II.  The  Personnel  of  Publication  Committees 

A  literature  committee  as  publisher  in  a  Moslem  country 
is  a  spender  of  money.  As  things  are  at  present,  this  money 
comes  from  western  sources.  But  it  is  being  spent  on  behalf 
of  an  eastern  people,  and  the  success  of  the  literature  depends 
upon  its  response  to  the  mental  and  spiritual  attitude  of  that 
people. 

How  then  should  the  responsible  spending  committee  be 
composed  ? 


[215] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


No  one  will  question  that  it  must  give  full  representation 
to  the  views  of  the  various  societies  supplying  the  income. 
But  should  it  not  also  represent  the  consumers?  Should  the 
Christians  of  the  country  have  a  voice  on  the  committee,  even 
before  they  have  made  the  work  their  own  by  supporting  it 
financially?  Here  the  different  areas  reporting  show  different 
stages  of  thought. 

Where  a  mission  is  still  pioneering,  before  the  growth 
of  an  indigenous  Church,  the  committee  usually  consists  of 
missionaries  alone,  as  is  the  case  in  Arabia,  though  even  there 
a  few  Nestorian  Christians  are  sharing  in  production,  without 
yet  sharing  in  committee  responsibility. 

In  China,  members  of  the  Chinese  churches  ‘^are  members 
of  committees  having  the  same  standing  and  rights  as  foreign 
members.’'  And  on  the  general  literature  committee  for 
China  it  is  a  rule  that  half  the  membership  must  be  Chinese. 

In  India  the  thirty-nine  Christian  publishing  societies  show 
every  variety  of  practice,  but  all  provincial  literature  com¬ 
mittees  value  the  Indian  element  in  their  counsels. 

The  Egyptian  report  says : 

“It  is  evident  that  Egyptians  should,  with  Syrians  resident 
in  Egypt,  share,  to  a  much  larger  extent,  responsibility  on  pub¬ 
lication  committees  and  literature  societies,  now  almost  wholly 
western  in  membership.  Although  there  are  a  few  Egyptians 
on  publication  committees,  and  some  who  co-operate  heartily 
in  the  distribution  of  literature,  there  is  as  yet  no  sense  in 
the  Egyptian  Church  as  a  whole  that  she  is  responsible  for 
this  work.” 

Turkey  lays  down  the  principle  that  “he  who  pays  the 
piper  calls  the  tune.” 

“Theoretically  we  are  in  favour  of  the  principle  that  those 
who  share  in  the  responsibility  of  literature  production  should 
also  share  in  the  cost  of  the  work.  We  believe  that  those 
interested  should  not  expect  to  have  a  vote  in  the  management, 
unless  they  are  willing  to  put  some  of  their  money  into  it. 
This  principle  has  secured  ready  co-operation  from  the  in¬ 
digenous  Church  along  other  lines  of  work.” 

Such  a  principle  has  its  value  in  emphasising  that  the 
[216] 


PUBLICATION 


share  of  the  people  of  the  country  must  be  a  real  and  not  an 
honorary  one,  if  the  work  of  Christian  literature  is  to  become, 
as  it  must,  eventually  theirs,  and  not  the  task  of  foreign  mis¬ 
sionaries.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
in  the  production  of  literature,  the  provision  of  funds  for 
publication  is  not  the  only  form  of  contribution.  Before  it 
has  shouldered  the  money  burden  of  production,  the  indigenous 
Church  may  contribute  authorship  and  a  purchasing  and  dis¬ 
tributing  constituency  that  make  it  an  active  partner  in  the 
work. 

The  Egyptian  report  calls  attention  in  this  connection  to 
the  ancient  Churches  of  the  East,  that  still  endure  in  Turkish 
and  in  Arabic-speaking  lands.  Where  literature  committees 
represent  the  productive  energy,  the  spending  power  and  the 
doctrinal  views  of  one  western  society,  there  may  be  difficulty 
in  admitting  members  of  the  Oriental  Churches  to  share  in 
the  spending  of  money,  given  for  society  purposes  only.  This 
is  inevitable,  but  it  is  a  real  weakness  if  it  means  that  the  East¬ 
ern  Churches  are  not  called  to  service,  and  any  plans  for  fuller 
co-operation  will  be  culpably  weak  if  they  do  not  seek  to 
include  the  help  of  these  our  brothers. 


HI.  Financing  a  Literature  Committee 

A  literature  committee,  then,  may  undertake  the  work  of 
a  publisher.  But  what  publisher  can  build  up  a  business  with¬ 
out  capital?  This,  literally  has  been  the  endeavour  of  many 
missionary  publishing  efforts,  and  it  has  been  crippling  to  any 
strong  forward  policy.  A  special  gift  or  grant  has  been 
sought  to  pay  for  each  book  as  it  was  written.  And  here 
we  must  acknowledge  the  great  services  of  The  Bible  Lands 
Missionary  Aid  Society,  The  Religious  Tract  Society,  The 
American  Tract  Society,  The  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  The  Scripture  Gift  Mission,  The  Milton  Stewart 
Fund  and,  in  recent  years.  The  American  Christian  Literature 
Society  for  Moslems.  Many  of  the  beginnings  made  were 
possible  only  through  their  vision  of  this  department  of  work, 

[217] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


and  their  liberality  in  supplying  grants.  But  it  was  never  their 
intention  that  the  work  of  publication  should  be  dependent 
entirely  on  their  special  and  generally  irregular  grants.  Such 
a  hand-to-mouth  existence  has  been  stifling  to  the  making  of 
comprehensive  plans,  and  to  go-ahead  business  methods. 

The  Syria  report  says  : 

“Larger  editions  might  reduce  the  cost  of  single  copies 
of  books  and  tracts,  if  the  publishing  agency  were  able  to 
capitalise  its  undertakings,  so  as  to  make  large  editions 
possible.” 

The  Indian  report  says : 

“There  is  no  lack  whatever  of  publication  agencies  and 
presses,  both  mission  and  commercial,  for  printing  books  and 
tracts  for  the  Moslem  community  in  this  area.  The  only  lack 
is  that  of  funds  to  subsidise  the  undertaking.  Again  and  again 
publishing  committees  are  obliged  to  “pigeon-hole”  good  books 
and  tracts  which  have  been  written  with  a  definite  Christian 
purpose,  and  which  might  be  the  means  of  winning  many  souls 
to  Christ,  simply  because  of  no  funds.”  Grants  from  the 
ordinary  mission  boards  for  this  work  seem  to  be  small,  or 
absent  altogether.  “The  evident  aim  is  to  make  the  work  as 
far  as  possible  self-supporting,  either  from  sales,  or  from 
special  subscriptions  raised  on  the  field.  This  fact  of  non¬ 
support  from  the  Home  Base  is  largely  responsible  for  the 
failure  of  publishing  agencies  to  take  up  new  pieces  of  litera¬ 
ture  for  publication.” 

The  demand  that  the  work  shall  be  as  far  as  possible  self- 
supporting  is  most  reasonable  and  healthy,  provided  facts  are 
faced  and  the  impossible  is  not  demanded.  The  reports  seem 
to  show  that,  given  initial  capital,  much  of  the  publication 
work  might  be  self-supporting,  providing  always  that  the  fol¬ 
lowing  facts  are  recognised : 

1.  In  many  parts  of  the  East  the  peculiar  difficulties  of 
circulation  are  such  that  this  work  will  for  many  years  need 
special  financing.  If  the  costs  of  colportage  are  reckoned, 
hardly  any  literature  will  be  self-supporting. 

2.  It  will  probably  be  a  necessary  part  of  mission  policy 
to  make  certain  types  of  literature,  if  not  free,  at  least  below 

[218] 


PUBLICATION 


cost  price.  This  latter  is  the  deliberate  policy  of  the  Bible 
Societies,  in  countries  where  a  demand  has  yet  to  be  created, 
or  where  extreme  poverty  would  otherwise  hold  back 
purchasers. 

Thus  Singapore  reports :  “Hymnbooks  pay  for  them¬ 
selves.  Works  under  the  head  of  general  literature  are  sold 
at  a  slight  profit.  School  textbooks  pay  for  themselves. 
Evangelistic  literature  for  Moslems  needs  to  be  subsidised.” 

India  says:  “All  but  one  of  the  presses  and  societies 
reporting  said  that  they  were  giving  some  tracts  away  free, 
and  selling  all  or  most  literature  below  cost,  because  of  the 
poverty  of  the  people.  This  is  a  common  practice  through¬ 
out  India.” 

Turkey  says:  “Self-supporting  Christian  literature  con¬ 
sists  chiefly  of  hymnbooks  and  school-books,  for  which  there 
is  a  steady  demand.  If  capital  were  supplied,  periodicals  could 
be  made  self-supporting.  The  evangelistic  literature  will  prob¬ 
ably  need  a  subsidy  for  many  years  to  come.” 

Syria  says :  “Biographies  and  stories  should  be  self-sup¬ 
porting,  if  gotten  out  in  large  and  inexpensive  editions,  but 
literature  of  a  more  directly  evangelical  type,  and  in  defence 
of  Christianity,  will  need  to  be  subsidised  for  a  good  while 
to  come.” 

Egypt  says :  “It  should  be  our  aim  to  make  all  saleable 
Christian  literature  self-supporting,  after  working  capital  has 
been  found — provided  cost  of  distribution  is  taken  off  it.” 

The  rub  has  come  when  this  effort  at  self-support  had  to 
be  made  without  working  capital : 

North  Africa  says :  “In  finance,  nothing  has  been  properly 
organised  exclusively  for  literature.  The  only  society  with  a 
mission-board  appropriation  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  rest  work  on  the  missionaries’  personal  resources,  grants- 
in-aid  and  special  gifts.  The  lack  of  organisation,  and  the  indi¬ 
vidual  basis  on  which  the  missionaries  of  some  societies  are 
obliged  to  work,  proves  the  greatest  hindrance  to  the  regular 
publication  of  literature.” 

In  Egypt  one  of  the  greatest  literature  societies,  the  Nile 

[219] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Mission  Press,  for  want  of  working  capital  has  had  to  finance 
new  literature  either  by  rather  spasmodic  and  uncertain  gifts 
(sent  out  from  home  or  begged  from  societies  that  give  grants 
in  aid),  or  by  profits  on  English  printing  work.  The  serious¬ 
ness  of  having  to  use  up  all  profits  for  the  financing  of  new 
work  is  shown  by  their  present  report  which  says : 

“The  plant  and  equipment  are  mostly  in  use  since  1905 
and  are  worn  out.  It  would  only  be  possible  to  replace  and 
increase  them  by  donations  for  that  purpose,  which  are  quite 
inadequate  in  quantity.” 

The  impossible  has  been  asked.  It  must  be  clearly  recog¬ 
nised  that  either  capital  or  a  dependable  subsidy  is  needed 
before  a  great  publishing  business  can  be  built  up. 

The  North  African  report  says:  “For  the  evangelisation 
of  the  Moslems  under  our  present  conditions,  literature  must 
always  be  produced  and  distributed  at  a  loss,  but  at  no  greater 
expense  and  with  as  much  result  as  is  the  case  in  other 
branches  of  organised  mission  work.  Literature  ought  to  be 
provided  for  in  budgets  on  an  equal  footing  with  other  kinds 
of  effort.  The  results  would  be  as  great  as  from  other  types 
of  expenditure.” 

The  Malaysian  report  says :  “Funds  would  have  to  be 
supplied  from  the  home  bases.  The  missions  on  the  field  are 
so  pressed  for  funds  to  support  their  existing  work,  that  they 
would  not  be  likely  to  consent  to  set  aside  a  part  of  their 
appropriations  for  producing  new  literature  for  the 
Mohammedans.” 

IF.  Suggested  Solutions 

India  and  China  have  perhaps  found  a  working  solution 
for  the  rest  of  us.  In  connection  with  the  joint  literature 
committees  recently  established,  the  Home  Boards  have  volun¬ 
tarily  agreed  among  themselves  to  tax  their  incomes  at  a  ratio 
of  a  few  shillings  for  every  thousand  pounds  expended  in 
India,  and  to  place  this  money  at  the  disposal  of  the  central 
literature  committee. 

[220] 


PUBLICATION 


The  Home  Boards  have  thus  recognised  that  literature 
must  have  a  permanent  place  in  their  budget.  They  have 
also  recognised  that,  by  making  use  of  a  joint  committee  as 
publisher,  they  can  obtain  greater  results  from  a  much  smaller 
expenditure  than  if  each  board  acted  alone. 

This  method  helps  to  provide  against  the  danger,  common 
to  all  deputed  work,  of  losing  the  enthusiasm  of  the  unit, — 
a  danger  which  is  lessened  in  proportion  as  the  work  costs 
each  unit  directly.  Each  representative  of  a  missionary  society 
will  now  have  the  sense  that  he  is  spending  his  society's 
money;  and  he  must  be  ready  to  account  to  his  society  for  the 
work  undertaken.  At  the  same  time  such  a  method  does 
nothing  to  lessen  the  effectiveness  of  individual  mission 
presses  and  literature  societies  that  collect  funds  at  home.  No 
new  appeal  is  put  before  the  public.  It  is  merely  quietly 
affirmed  that  literature  is  a  regular  part  of  the  missionary  task. 
The  reflex  effect  should  be  the  strengthening  of  any  existing 
literary  societies  in  the  field,  by  means  of  new  work  and  new 
expenditure,  for  which  they  would  in  most  cases  be  the  natural 
channels.  Generous  special  gifts  collected  or  given  by  indi¬ 
viduals  to  pay  for  the  publication  of  special  books  will  be  as 
welcome  as  ever.  Such  a  scheme  does  not  make  a  literature 
committee  rich,  or  place  it  in  a  position  to  carry  out  all  its 
aims.  But  it  does  save  it  from  being  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  spasmodic  giving,  and  enable  it  to  think  and  plan  more 
steadily  than  when  it  lives  only  from  hand  to  mouth.  It  is 
probable  too  that  societies  that  give  grants  in  aid  for  literature 
will  be  glad  to  find  as  the  channel  for  their  gifts  a  responsible 
committee  representing  all  the  Christian  forces  in  any  field, 
and  preparing  and  budgetting  for  comprehensive  schemes. 
Two  notes  of  warning  need  to  be  sounded: 
a.  Former  methods  have  trained  many  missionaries  in 
bad  habits  that  are  not  easily  broken.  It  is  written  of  one 
society,  which,  while  keeping  the  control  in  the  hands  of  its 
home  committee,  invited  the  co-operation  of  others  on  its 
publication  committees  on  the  field : 

“Owing  to  the  general  policy  of  central  control,  these 
committees  are  ignorant  as  to  the  finance  of  the  work,  and 

[221] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


have  not  the  habit  of  submitting  a  budget  for  the  work  they 
want  done.  They  live  from  hand  to  mouth  and  would  be 
unable  to  give  any  idea  of  the  cost  of  the  literature  undertaken 
for  the  next  six  months.” 

If  a  committee  is  to  be  the  recipient  of  a  regular  grant, 
however  small,  it  will  have  to  recognise  the  importance  of  a 
definite  budget,  and  a  definite  report  on  work  done.  Without 
this  it  cannot  command  the  confidence  or  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  Home  Boards. 

b.  With  all  carefully  planned  work  arises  a  certain  danger 
of  loss  of  elasticity.  Plans  and  budgets  are  necessary  for 
quiet,  economical,  united  work.  But  the  partners  on  the  home 
boards  and  the  partners  abroad  must  realise  that,  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  Christian  literature,  they  reach  out  to  mysterious 
realms  beyond  the  control  of  budgets.  Some  great,  sweeping 
movement  of  the  Spirit  of  God  may  in  any  year  call  for  imme¬ 
diate  revision  of  plans.  Or,  once  in  the  centuries,  God  may 
send  to  some  little  Christian  group  in  Moslem  lands,  a  writer 
or  an  artist  of  genius.  Then  our  careful  planning  may  have 
to  be  laid  aside,  that  we  may  make  the  most  of  this  unex¬ 
pected  better  gift  of  God.  This  does  not  excuse  the  planners 
among  us  from  drawing  up  their  budget;  the  power  to  plan 
is  also  a  gift  of  His;  it  only  makes  bounden  upon  us  all  who 
touch  this  work  a  mental  and  spiritual  elasticity,  and  readi¬ 
ness  to  see  the  guidance  of  the  Giver  of  all  gifts. 

Another  important  suggestion  with  regard  to  the  finance 
of  a  literature  committee  comes  from  North  Africa: 

‘‘Each  mission  or  responsible  individual  should  undertake 
as  far  as  possible  to  buy  at  cost  price  a  certain  proportion  of 
each  edition  published,  according  to  its  needs.” 

Such  a  suggestion  encroaches  on  the  question  of  circula¬ 
tion  which  belongs  to  the  next  chapter,  but  it  has  also  its 
relationship  to  the  question  of  production.  Guarantees  secured 
beforehand  often  enable  a  committee  to  venture  upon  a  larger 
edition,  and  produce  more  cheaply.  This  has  been  proved  in 
China  where  the  costly  production  of  a  Bible  Dictionary  was 
thus  very  greatly  lessened.  The  method  also  provides  a  rough 
and  ready  means  of  feeling  the  pulse  of  the  buying  constit- 
[222] 


PUBLICATION 


uency,  since  only  small  orders  will  be  given  for  books  of 
which  the  societies  are  not  really  desirous.  At  the  same  time, 
the  permanent  value  of  a  work  cannot  always  be  tested  by  the 
number  of  copies  which  the  societies  are  ready  to  order^at  any 
given  moment. 


V.  T he  Publisher  and  the  Printer 

Having  accepted  a  book  and  obtained  funds  for  its  pub¬ 
lication,  how  shall  the  literature  committee  print  it?  Can  the 
commercial  press  of  a  Moslem  land  be  used,  or  is  it  desirable 
to  work  through  a  mission  press  ?  The  answer  is  very  various 
in  different  lands.  Where  there  is  a  long  story  of  missionary 
effort  a  mission  press  was  often  a  part  of  pioneer  work,  and 
sometimes  the  first  press  introduced  into  the  country.  Now 
that  a  busy  commercial  press  is  also  at  work  it  often  holds  its 
own  as  a  reliable  press  for  the  literature  of  the  Christian 
Church. 


CHINA 

Both  ends  of  the  story  are  seen  in  the  area  covered  by  the 
Chinese  report.  Thus  in  Chinese  Turkestan  the  Swedish  Mis¬ 
sion  Press  is  the  only  one  in  the  land.  With  the  aid  of  the 
Bible  Society  it  is  the  printer  of  the  Bible  and  of  all  the 
pioneer  literature  brought  out  by  the  mission  in  Kashgar 
Turki.  On  the  other  hand  in  China  proper,  amid  a  large  and 
busy  commercial  printing  trade,  are  several  great  Christian 
presses  that  began  life  as  little  mission  efforts. 

“Printing  and  bookbinding  in  all  branches,”  says  the  re¬ 
port,  “are  the  daily  business  of  the  Chinese  Religious  Tract 
Society,  Hankow,  from  whence  all  our  publications  are 
issued.” 

INDIA 

Mission  presses  are  numerous  and  preferred,  but  a  com¬ 
mercial  press  is  available. 

“Twenty-one  presses  under  individual  missionary  societies 

[223]^ 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


are  listed,  and  there  are  undoubtedly  others.  Non-Christian 
publishing  houses  and  presses  abound.  Though  they  are 
found  chiefly  in  the  large  cities  like  Calcutta,  Bombay  and 
Lahore,  yet  the  smaller  towns  and  cities  in  the  Moslem  areas 
have  their  presses.  Besides,  a  Hindu  press  never  hesitates  to 
publish  a  Moslem  book,  even  if  it  is  written  against  Hinduism. 
The  work  is  the  usual  lithograph  type,  and  fairly  good  as  a 
rule;  but,  for  the  most  part,  these  presses  cannot  compete 
with  ours  for  quality  and  variety.  There  are  certain  publica¬ 
tions  which  we  prefer  to  have  printed  by  our  mission  presses, 
and  we  would  not  give  these  out.  The  charges  of  the  com¬ 
mercial  press  would  probably  make  the  working  losses  on  our 
publications  larger  than  they  are  at  present.  Nevertheless,  the 
fact  that  commercial  presses  can  do  the  work  we  require  is 
proved  by  the  private  productions  of  individual  missionaries 
in  the  area  under  review.’' 


MALAYSIA 

Mission  presses  are  well  equipped ;  the  commercial  press  is 
not  yet  equal  to  the  work. 

Although  in  Java  there  are  active  publishing  houses,  both 
Dutch  and  Chinese,  the  mission  presses  have  great  prestige 
for  the  quality  of  their  work.  In  Singapore,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Press  reports : 

‘‘The  Publishing  House  is  mechanically  equal  to  all  de¬ 
mands,  and  financially  strong.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  if 
we  had  relied  on  the  commercial  presses  little  or  nothing 
would  have  been  accomplished.  The  local  native  printing 
presses  are  very  poorly  equipped  and  badly  managed,  so  that 
the  poems  and  stories  which  they  have  produced  (usually 
lithographed),  are  very  illegible  and  unattractive. 

Eventually  we  shall  have  to  have  a  printing  establishment 
in  Java  as  the  Singapore  plant  is  too  far  off  to  supply  success¬ 
fully  the  needs  of  Java,  especially  in  periodical  literature. 
The  difficulty  of  proof-reading  at  such  a  distance  is  also  very 
great,  the  spelling  being  different  from  that  used  in  Singapore, 
and  the  very  important  languages  of  Java  being  practically 
unknown  there.” 

[224] 


PUBLICATION 


SYRIA 

The  mission  press  has  prestige  and  equipment;  a  commer¬ 
cial  press  is  available. 

In  Syria  the  Catholic  Press  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  at  Beirut 
and  the  American  Press  under  the  Presbyterians  in  the  same 
city  have  in  their  respective  spheres  a  reputation  and  a  dignity 
beyond  any  other  publishing  agency  in  the  land,  and  have 
almost  a  monopoly  of  Christian  publishing.  The  Syrian  report 
says  that  no  private  publishing  by  any  missionary  is  recorded. 
Turkish  censorship  made  this  practically  impossible  in  the 
past.  The  work  now  would  as  a  matter  of  course  go  through 
the  American  Press,  of  which  the  Egyptian  report  tells  us 
further : 

“Its  broad  policy  and  large  sympathy  with  all  types  of 
missionary  work,  have  offset  any  impressions  of  exclusive¬ 
ness  which  might  attach  to  its  independent  organisation;  and 
it  is  stated  that,  in  connection  with  the  one  hundredth  anni¬ 
versary  of  its  founding,  the  door  is  to  be  opened  in  its  con¬ 
stitutional  basis  for  any  mission  that  wishes  to  share  in  its 
development  and  direction  to  do  so.’^ 

Besides  its  great  Arabic  work,  the  Beirut  Press  has  re¬ 
cently  undertaken  the  printing  of  some  of  the  beginnings  of 
literature  in  Sart  Turki  for  Russian  Turkestan,  making  spe¬ 
cial  type  for  the  purpose.  This  press  also  made  the  special 
type  necessary  for  Bishop  Brent’s  publication  work  for  the 
Moros  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

EGYPT 

Strong  mission  and  commercial  presses  are  available. 

“The  commercial  press  in  Egypt  is  highly  developed,  yet 
for  the  present,  the  special  needs  of  Christian  literature  would 
seem  to  require  the  Christian  presses  now  in  existence.  Co¬ 
operation  on  a  larger  scale  would  make  possible  the  use  of  the 
secular  press  for  job-work  in  the  case  of  large  editions,  and 
the  employment  of  artists  and  designers.” 

The  Nile  Mission  Press  has  a  two-fold  existence  which  is 

[225] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


of  the  greatest  service  in  a  centre  like  Cairo.  It  is  on  the 
one  hand  an  independent  publication  society,  incorporated  by 
law,  with  strictly  defined  articles,  and  a  London  Committee 
in  which  resides  the  final  authority  as  to  its  publications. 

But  it  is  also  ready  to  serve,  as  printer,  the  needs  of  all 
missions.  It  reports  that  in  sixteen  years,  it  printed  two  and 
a  half  million  copies  of  its  own  publications,  but  seven  million 
copies  for  other  societies.  It  is  of  peculiar  importance  to  have 
such  a  serviceable  Christian  press  in  a  centre  like  Cairo.  While 
local  societies  might  be  able  to  avail  themselves  of  the  Cairo 
commercial  press,  there  are  outlying  regions  of  the  Arabic 
world,  which  look  to  Cairo  for  their  supplies  of  literature,  and, 
being  at  a  distance,  are  not  in  a  position  to  make  their  bar¬ 
gains  with  the  regular  commercial  press  of  the  East,  but  need 
the  services  of  a  Christian  printer  devoted  to  their  interests. 
Thus  the  Arabic  part  of  bilingual  ( Arabo-Chinese)  tracts  for 
China  is  printed  at  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  and  the  Arabian 
Mission  also  relies  on  it  as  the  printer  of  most  of  its 
publications. 

ARABIA 

The  commercial  press  is  hostile  and  there  is  no  mission 
press. 

‘‘Only  the  Government  press  can  be  used.  The  others  are 
too  much  under  Moslem  restrictions  to  print  Christian  litera¬ 
ture.  We  use  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  Cairo  largely.” 

NORTH  AFRICA 

There  is  no  mission  press;  but  a  commercial  press  is 
available. 

“Printing  and  binding  are  done  by  the  commercial  press. 
The  publishing  houses  will  be  ready  to  print  any  publication 
that  the  missions  need,  either  in  French  or  in  Arabic.” 

TURKEY 

There  is  no  mission  press;  but  a  commercial  press  is 
available. 

[226] 


A  CO-EDUCATIONAL  MOSLEM  SCHOOL  AT  PADANG,  SUMATRA 

This  School  was  Founded  in  1915,  and  in  1922  Enx'olled  800  Pupils.  It  is  a 
Private  Enterprise  Supported  by  Government  Grants.  Notice  the  Use  of 
Pictures  on  the  Walls. 


PUBLICATION 


“The  commercial  press  can  meet  the  needs  of  all  mission 
publishing  agencies  of  our  field  satisfactorily.” 

PERSIA 

The  mission  presses  are  small,  and  the  commercial  press  is 
inadequate. 

“The  commercial  press  does  mediocre  work,  and  is  ham¬ 
pered  occasionally  by  the  censorship.  At  Ispahan,  however, 
Christian  leaflets  have  recently  been  printed  in  the  town.” 

Thus  the  gamut  is  run  from  places  like  Kashgar,  where 
no  press  but  the  mission  press  exists,  to  places  like  Constanti¬ 
nople  where,  after  deliberation,  the  missionary  publishers  have 
decided  that,  for  economy’s  sake,  they  will  not  involve  them¬ 
selves  in  the  capital  outlay  and  the  responsibility  involved  in 
a  printing  establishment.  Most  of  the  mission  presses  were 
started,  either  because  no  other  press  existed,  or  because  the 
existent  press  was  too  hostile  to  accept  Christian  publications, 
or  again  to  provide  work  for  converts  and  orphans  with  no 
means  of  livelihood.  They  work  to-day  amid  a  rapidly  in¬ 
creasing  commercial  press.  Although  the  first  reason  for 
their  existence  has  in  many  cases  vanished,  they  yet  do  im¬ 
portant  service  by  their  very  existence  as  business  firms  con¬ 
ducted  upon  Christian  principles.  Useful  as  this  may  be  to 
the  community,  it  is  important  that  a  mission  press  exercise 
careful  supervision  as  to  the  nature  of  job-work  accepted. 
Otherwise  in  an  eastern  city  it  would  be  only  too  easy  for  work 
to  go  out  bearing  a  mission  press  imprint  but  anti-Christian  in 
tendency.  To  missionary  publishing  committees  the  presence 
of  a  mission  press  under  sympathetic  and  reliable  management 
is  a  tremendous  asset.  Especially  is  this  the  case  where  work 
(like  that  of  the  missionaries  in  Arabia)  must  be  entrusted 
by  the  authors  to  presses  at  a  distance. 

The  missionaries  of  Persia  have  had  some  manuscript 
reproduced  by  facsimile  process  in  America.  If  other  presses 
are  not  available  or  not  adequate  it  may  be  desirable,  follow¬ 
ing  the  example  of  the  Persians  themselves,  who  in  troublous 
days  have  influenced  their  country  politically  by  literature  pub- 

[227] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


lished  in  Russia,  Cairo  or  Berlin,  to  print  Persian  Christian 
literature  outside  the  country.  This  might  be  in  Lahore,  where 
the  Punjab  Religious  Book  Society  already  lists  about  fifteen 
Persian  titles.  It  would  be  the  less  deplorable  from  the  fact 
that  there  are  possibly  as  many  readers  of  the  great  Persian 
language  outside  Persia  as  within  her. 

On  the  whole,  in  spite  of  the  grateful  acceptance  of  the 
services  of  existing  mission  presses,  the  tendency  seems  against 
the  establishment  of  fresh  ones,  owing  to  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  commercial  press.  Yet  let  no  literature  committee 
imagine  that  in  avoiding  the  responsibility  of  a  press,  it  has 
avoided  the  need  for  a  business  manager.  The  committee  sys¬ 
tem  of  publishing  may  be  almost  as  wasteful  of  creative  energy 
as  the  old  individual,  haphazard  plan,  unless  it  is  recognised 
that  there  must  be  provision  for  the  business  side  of  the  pub¬ 
lisher’s  task.  Before  publication,  in  dealing  with  estimates, 
paper-buying,  block-making,  prices;  after  publication  in  deal¬ 
ing  with  storage,  cataloguing,  advertising,  orders  and  cus¬ 
tomers,  despatch  and  distribution,  and  in  half  a  score  of  other 
directions,  business  handling  may  save  or  wreck  the  usefulness 
of  creative  work.  Where  a  publishing  committee  can  only 
claim  the  whole  services  of  one  missionary,  some  question 
whether  he  should  not  be  rather  a  business  manager  than  an 
author  or  editor. 

“The  American  Board  pays  the  salary  of  one  man  who  is 
supposed  to  give  all  his  time  to  the  oversight  of  publication 
work.  This  man  should  be  more  of  a  business  manager  than 
a  writer.”  {Turkish  Report,) 

“The  one  thing  necessary  to  put  life  into  this  organisation 
is  the  appointment  of  some  one  man  to  devote  his  whole  time 
to  the  work  of  the  committee,  a  man  on  whose  heart  is  laid 
the  burden  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  Moslems.  Such  men 
exist  but  they  are  not  numerous  and  no  one  is  free  to  devote 
his  whole  time  to  the  organisation  of  nation-wide  work  for 
Moslems.”  {Chinese  Report.) 

Tasks  of  authorship  and  editorship  (except  the  perpetual 
editorship  involved  in  periodicals)  can  sometimes  be  carried 
out  by  temporary  loans  of  workers,  and  extra  efforts  on  the 
[228] 


PUBLICATION 


part  of  busy  men;  but  the  business  care  and  initiative  which  a 
new  literature  demands,  must  early  become  some  one’s  first 
duty  if  it  is  to  prosper,  under  the  peculiarly  difficult  conditions 
surrounding  Christian  literature  for  Moslems  in  most  east¬ 
ern  lands. 


VI.  The  Publisher  and  Pictures 

Illustrations  are  a  vital  part  of  a  literature  that  is  to 
reach  out  and  teach  children,  and  the  half-literate,  and  a  de¬ 
sirable  part  of  most  literature  that  is  to  have  a  popular  sale. 
A  cover  design  may  almost  make  or  mar  a  book.  In  many 
lands  we  hear  of  the  breakdown  of  the  old  Moslem  prejudice 
against  pictures. 

In  some  parts  of  the  Moslem  world  where  the  press  is 
adequate  for  other  types  of  work,  it  still  depends  for  pic¬ 
tures  upon  block-makers  or  colour-printers  in  Europe  or 
America. 

This  is  still  the  case  in  Cairo,  where  line  blocks  can  be 
passably  made,  but  locally  made  half-tone  blocks  are  still 
execrable,  and  only  the  crudest  flat  colour  blocks  can  be  ob¬ 
tained  with  considerable  difficulty.  No  three-colour  work  is 
yet  done  locally.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose 
that  coloured  pictures  are  not  obtained  and  used  in  Cairo  for 
ordinary  commercial  purposes.  Large  Cairo  firms,  for  in¬ 
stance,  buy  European-printed  colour  designs  for  covers  of 
sale  catalogues,  and  add  only  the  letter-press  in  Cairo. 

If  Christian  literature  in  Cairo  is  to  be  well  illustrated,  as 
it  should  be  (for  apart  from  the  teaching  value  of  the  pictures 
colporteurs  report  that  no  books  sell  like  those  with  a  coloured 
picture  on  the  cover),  the  producers  must  either  have  relations 
with  reputable  firms  of  blockmakers  and  colour-printers  out¬ 
side  the  country,  or  they  must  take  steps  for  the  development 
of  these  lines  of  work  within  the  country. 

Egypt  is  not  alone  in  finding  difficulty  in  this  direction. 
The  present  costliness  of  colour-lithography  in  North  Africa 
has  reduced  the  Algiers  Mission  Band  to  the  use  of  black  and 
white;  while  Malaysia  says: 


[229] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


‘‘Coloured  illustrations  would  greatly  add  to  the  attractive¬ 
ness  of  books  and  pamphlets,  and  should  be  produced  at  home, 
in  a  style  suitable  for  all  Moslem  lands/' 

This  suggestion  seems  to  contemplate  a  combination  for 
the  securing  of  artistic  work,  as  well  as  for  its  reproduction. 
The  Egyptian  report  also  says  : 

“Co-operation  on  a  larger  scale  would  make  possible  the 
use  of  artists  and  designers." 

Here  is  a  side  on  which  our  literature  in  most  countries  is 
lamentably  weak,  and  often  in  danger  of  being  outclassed. 
Pictures  are  more  than  a  bait  to  sell  literature.  In  Christian 
hands  they  may  be  a  real  way  to  bring  truth  home.  Probably 
there  is  need  of  some  informal  combination  among  us  to  fill 
up  that  in  which  we  are  lacking.  This  would  have  a  business 
side  on  which  it  might  be  combined  with  the  business  man¬ 
agement  of  the  proposed  Press  Bureau.  It  would  also  have  an 
artistic  side  for  which  an  editor,  or  a  share  in  an  editor  of 
artistic  sympathy  would  be  a  necessity. 

Combination  might  help  along  the  following  lines : 

1.  Securing  of  special  terms  with  a  reputable  block-maker 
and  colour-printer. 

2.  Securing  of  service  (possibly  voluntary)  in  London 
and  other  centres  in  finding  suitable  topical  and  informational 
electros  for  illustrating  magazine  articles,  etc. 

3.  Arrangement  of  free  loan  of  blocks  between  the  va¬ 
rious  co-operating  committees,  lists  and  proof  copies  being 
available  at  some  central  place. 

4.  Sharing  the  services  of  an  artist  or  artists  to  produce 
cover-designs  and  illustrations  true  to  the  east,  and  to  develop 
indigenous  artistic  contributions,  working  always  for  the  day 
when  a  true  eastern  school  of  Christian  art  shall  arise. 


[230] 


Chapter  XIII 


CIRCULATION  ^ 

The  number  of  human  beings  in  the  world  who 
know  little  or  nothing  of  Christ  is  more  impressive 
than  the  annual  output  of  all  literature  agencies  com- 
bined,  even  if  the  output  be  expressed  in  pages.  The 
existing  organisations  with  all  their  activity  have 
only  touched  the  very  fringe  of  the  world's  need. 

— Dr.  Ritson. 

In  this  word  lies  the  key  to  our  success  or  failure.  The 
reports  of  the  survey  give  an  impression  of  much  devoted 
amateur  help  in  circulation;  more  perhaps  than  any  other  lit¬ 
erature  can  command.  But  they  also  give  a  picture  of  undi¬ 
rected  work  and  a  rather  general  reliance  on  amateur  help, 
where  there  was  need,  in  addition,  of  trained  thought  and 
skill. 

Parts  of  our  literature  are  generally  acceptable,  and  almost 
move  by  their  own  momentum.  Other  parts  are  secure  of 
some  circulation  through  their  link  with  organised  work 
(hymnbooks  and  school  books).  But  for  much  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in  the  Moslem  world  we  have  to  create  a  demand 
in  the  teeth  of  adverse  circumstances.  This  is  true  of  any 
educational  scheme  of  publishing  with  a  product  just  ahead 
of  popular  taste.  How  much  more  then  is  it  true  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in  a  Moslem  world! 

^  The  report  from  Egypt,  and  notably  a  memorandum  from  Mr.  Upson 
of  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  supplies  so  many  details  that  a  disproportionate 
amount  of  attention  may  seem  lavished  upon  that  country  in  this  chapter. 
This  is  deliberate ;  not  that  the  questions  are  more  urgent  in  Egypt  than 
in  other  Moslem  lands;  perhaps  Egypt  has  gone  further  than  her  sister 
lands  to  solve  them — but  because  examples  taken  from  this  one  Moslem 
field  show  up  conditions  and  difficulties  which  are  reported  in  less  detail 
from  other  countries,  and  which  concern  us  all. 

[231] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


I.  A dverse  Factors 

There  are  difficulties  in  circulation  that  would  fairly  daunt 
a  home  publisher.  The  Egyptian  report  speaks  for  many  parts 
of  the  Moslem  world  when  it  says,  “The  organised  book  trade 
hardly  yet  exists  in  Egypt.” 

That  implies  that  there  is  no  ready-made  channel  for 
distribution  through  wholesale  and  retail  booksellers;  and  in 
such  circumstances  the  missionary  producers  have  to  hew  out 
their  own  channels,  as  well  as  providing  the  water  to  run 
through  them.  “Practically  the  only  method  of  circulation,” 
continues  the  Egyptian  report,  “is  colportage,  and  colportage 
invariably  more  than  swamps  all  profits.” 

If  there  are  difficulties  in  Egypt,  where,  within  reasonable 
limits  there  is  freedom  of  the  press,  how  much  more  is  this 
the  case  in  unsettled  regions,  where  government  officials,  not 
unnaturally  suspicious  of  outside  influences,  may  on  any  day 
prohibit  the  circulation  of  Christian  literature. 

To  the  immeasurable  hindrance  of  the  prevailing  illiteracy 
in  many  lands  must  often  be  added  a  general  level  of  poverty 
undreamed  of  at  home.  Turkey,  for  instance,  even  in  times 
of  comparative  peace  when  her  roads  are  open  to  the  book¬ 
seller,  has  all  the  poverty  of  a  land  criss-crossed  with  old  war¬ 
paths  and  the  trails  of  fugitives. 

Another  factor  of  difficulty  is  the  religious  prejudice  that 
so  naturally  puts  the  Christian  book  under  suspicion  in  a  Mos¬ 
lem  country;  and  this  is  often  strengthened  by  a  sense  of 
political  hostility  between  the  Moslem  East  and  the  so-called 
Christian  West. 

In  Egypt  “anti-British  feeling,  due  to  the  present  political 
situation,  is  reported  in  some  quarters  to  have  aroused  sus¬ 
picion  against  books  of  foreign  origin,  especially  if  they  bear 
the  imprint  of  a  Christian  press.” 

While  in  India, 

“An  unfavourable  factor  is  the  Khalifat  agitation  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Turkish  peace,  and  the  feeling  that  the  whole 
Moslem  world  is  suffering  a  great  wrong  at  the  hands  of 

[232] 


CIRCULATION 


England,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  Christian  world.  The  na¬ 
tionalist  movement  in  India  is  to  a  certain  extent  anti-Christian 
as  well  as  anti-British.” 

Syria  strikes  a  rather  similar  note  in  its  very  discriminat¬ 
ing  contribution. 

“Unfavourable  to  the  circulation  of  Christian  literature  is 
the  quickened  racial  and  religious  consciousness  of  Moslems, 
along  with  other  peoples,  after  the  war,  and  a  feeling  on  the 
part  of  Moslems  that  Christian  nations  have  shown  themselves 
insincere.” 

This  natural  tendency  to  judge  of  Christianity  by  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  so-called  Christians  of  Europe  is  reported  in  other 
places  as  well : 

“If  only  the  spirit  of  Christ  ruled  in  the  life  and  attitude 
of  nominal  Christians,  the  work  would  be  easier,  for  the 
European  element  exercises  a  greater  influence  than  is  usually 
thought.”  {Algerian  Report.) 

Added  to  all  the  difficulties  set  forth  above,  is  the  fact  that 
in  many  parts  of  the  Moslem  world  communications  are  slow, 
difficult  and  uncertain  beyond  anything  dreamed  of  by  a  home 
publisher  in  distributing  his  product.  The  brigand-infested 
mule-paths  of  Persia  or  Western  China,  the  steamy  river- 
creeks  of  West  Africa  or  Malaysia,  the  vast  distances  of  the 
Sudan  or  of  Turkestan  and  Siberia,  all  enter  into  the  problem. 
Yet  when  the  worst  is  said,  not  one  report  but  holds  that 
favourable  factors  far  outweigh  unfavourable;  that  to-day 
there  is  hunger  for  reading,  and  in  spite  of  staggering  diffi¬ 
culties,  the  opportunity  is  ours  as  never  before.  With  all  that, 
the  recitation  of  such  obstacles  shows  a  problem  of  circula¬ 
tion  which  calls  for  the  utmost  care  and  ingenuity  of  the  ex¬ 
pert.  If  publishers  at  home  need  specialists  in  the  art  of 
advertisement;  if  they  throw  a  proportion  of  their  capital  and 
energy  into  the  creation  and  conservation  of  a  constituency, 
how  much  more  must  the  mission  publisher  in  a  Moslem 
land  find  it  necessary  to  take  advantage  of  these  legitimate 
means  of  promoting  the  development  of  a  supporting  public! 


[233] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


II.  Methods  of  Circulation 

FREE  DISTRIBUTION 

Certain  societies  and  individuals,  recognising  literature  as 
an  evangelistic  force,  make  grants  for  the  purpose  of  its  free 
distribution.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  trend  of  opinion  on 
the  question  of  free  literature : 

China.  “Our  books  are  sold,  at  about  half  the  cost  of 
production,  to  missionaries  who  circulate  them  by  sale  and 
gift.  The  missionary  gives  some  away  at  his  own  cost.  Judi¬ 
cious  free  distribution  is  all  right.  Indiscriminate  distribution 
is  objectionable.  We  lose  on  the  production  of  the  book;  the 
missionary  loses  on  its  distribution.  We  sell  the  books  under 
cost,  because  we  are  not  trying  to  supply  a  demand  but  to 
carry  the  Gospel  to  Moslems.” 

Malaysia.  “Free  grants  of  literature  are  sometimes  made 
to  missionaries,  who  distribute  at  street  meetings  and  per¬ 
sonal  interviews;  but  very  little  of  our  product  is  given 
away  free.  The  missionaries  generally  have  decided  to  follow 
the  policy  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  in  regard 
to  selling  Christian  literature  rather  than  giving  it  away.” 

Arabia.  “Practically  all  tract  literature  is  given  away 
free,  but  some  is  sold  for  a  nominal  sum.  Moslems  appreciate 
it  more  if  they  pay  something  for  it,  and  are  more  likely  to 
read  it.  Grants  from  tract  societies  and  the  A.C.L.S.M. 
meet  the  cost  of  distribution.” 

Turkey.  “The  general  poverty  of  the  people  makes  it 
very  difficult  to  circulate  literature,  except  by  giving  it  away. 
But  the  only  part  of  the  product  of  the  publication  depart¬ 
ment  which  is  regularly  given  away  freely,  consists  of  tracts 
which  are  published  with  the  intention  of  free  distribution — 
about  20  per  cent  of  the  product.  For  the  rest,  the  method 
has  been  to  try  to  get  back  at  least  the  cost  of  publication.” 

North  Africa.  “We  sell  wherever  we  can.  Sometimes 
a  tract  or  illustrated  Gospel  is  given  away  to  a  purchaser  of 

[234] 


CIRCULATION 


a  Scripture  portion,  or  to  any  one  interested,  with  whom  we 
have  had  an  interview.” 

The  principle  adopted  is  to  sell  wherever  possible;  but  in 
some  cases,  as  among  a  fanatical  section  of  the  population, 
it  is  much  if  one  can  get  a  person  to  accept  and  read. 

There  seems  to  be  a  general  agreement  with  the  principle 
of  the  Bible  Societies  that  most  literature  should  be  sold, — 
even  though,  in  view  of  extreme  poverty,  it  is  sometimes  sold 
at  less  than  the  cost  of  production, — rather  than  given  away. 
There  is  also  evidently  a  considerable  amount  of  departure 
from  this  principle  in  daily  practice, — whether  owing  to  pov¬ 
erty  or  to  fanaticism  which  holds  back  purchasers.  Many 
missionaries  spend  larger  sums  than  can  easily  be  spared  from 
their  own  salaries,  in  order  to  have  literature  to  give  as  a  per¬ 
sonal  present  to  friends,  visitors  and  enquirers. 

USE  OF  FUNDS  FOR  FREE  LITERATURE 

Generous  gifts  from  various  sources  have,  from  time  to 
time,  been  made  for  the  distribution  of  free  evangelistic  litera¬ 
ture.  There  is  a  certain  type  of  effectiveness,  as  advertise¬ 
ment,  in  deluging  a  city  or  district  with  free  handbills.  At  the 
same  time  the  method  is  a  costly  one.  It  is  like  the  wind 
pollenation  of  some  trees,  with  an  immense  quantity  of  pollen 
cast  upon  the  air,  some  of  which  myriad  grains  are  sure  to  do 
their  fertilising  work,  while  thousands  of  others  reach  the 
ground  and  leave  us  wondering  at  Nature’s  generous  over¬ 
productiveness.  The  individual  work  of  the  bee  involves 
higher  organisms,  but  far  more  certain  results  with  far  less 
expenditure  of  pollen.  Both  methods  are  justifiable,  but  in  the 
present  state  of  missionary  finances,  free  literature  should  as 
far  as  possible  be  used  individually. 

India  reports  its  use  in  connection  with  the  sale  of  Chris¬ 
tian  books;  there  is  a  certain  fitness  in  the  fact  that  the  man 
who  buys  a  Gospel  should  receive  with  it  an  evangelical  appeal ; 
the  man  who  is  interested  enough  to  buy  a  Christian  book  has 
something  further  to  focus  his  interest : 

“Individual  missionaries  report  that  they  use  coloured  pic- 

[235] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tures  or  handbills  for  free  distribution  in  connection  with  the 
sale  of  books,  and  that  this  often  bears  fruit.  The  Milton 
Stewart  tracts  have  been  widely  used  in  this  manner.”  {Indian 
Report.) 

Probably  the  ideal,  though  involving  more  direction  than 
has  hitherto  been  given  to  this  matter,  would  be  that  a  litera¬ 
ture  committee,  with  a  grant  for  free  literature  at  its  disposal, 
should  deliberately  canvass  the  whole  area  which  it  represents, 
apportion  its  grant  into  small  sums,  and  offer  literature,  to 
the  value  of  these  amounts,  to  individual  workers  up  and 
down  the  country,  giving  no  one  an  overwhelming  quantity, 
and  as  far  as  possible  offering  a  choice  of  tracts  to  the  indi¬ 
vidual  worker.  Some  workers  send  a  consecutive  series  of 
tracts  through  the  post  to  Moslem  friends,  others  use  a  con¬ 
secutive  series  for  distribution  in  connection  with  a  set  of 
lessons. 

There  may  be  some  place  for  the  big  ‘‘drives”  when  litera¬ 
ture  is  given  broadcast,  but  these  will  be  only  at  times  and 
places  of  special  opportunity.  A  group  of  experienced  workers 
in  Damascus,  for  instance,  during  the  weeks  before  the  start¬ 
ing  of  the  Hajj,  when  the  streets  are  full  of  strangers  from 
remotest  Moslem  districts,  might  scatter  literature  far  and 
wide ;  but  more  care  and  skill  in  planning  would  be  needed  than 
has  yet  been  put  into  such  work. 

BOOKSHOPS 

In  India,  where  comparatively  little  reliance  is  placed  on 
colportage,  mission  presses  nearly  all  have  their  own  book¬ 
shops  located  in  some  large  city  like  Lahore  or  Calcutta.  Here 
all  the  publications  of  the  Press  are  stocked,  and  usually,  also, 
the  most  important  literature  of  other  mission  presses  of  the 
language  area.  Large  supplies  of  general  and  religious  litera¬ 
ture  in  English  from  America  and  England  will  also  be  found. 
At  this  large  shop,  tracts  and  books  are  sold  over  the  counter, 
or  mail  orders  are  filled  and  despatched  to  missionaries  far  and 
wide  over  the  area  it  serves. 

Sometimes  it  has  been  the  practice  for  missionaries  them- 

[236] 


CIRCULATION 


selves  to  open  small  bookshops  and  reading  rooms  for  Mos¬ 
lems  in  their  stations,  like  that  in  connection  with  the  English 
Baptist  Mission  in  Dacca,  Bengal ;  but  these  as  a  rule  have  not 
succeeded,  and  at  present  probably  not  more  than  two  or  three 
at  most  are  to  be  found  in  all  India. 

“Very  seldom  apparently  is  there  a  person  or  shop  or 
reading  room  set  apart  for  special  work  among  Moslems” 
{Indian  Report.) 

In  other  Moslem  countries,  while  the  larger  publishing 
societies  may  have  sale  depots  at  their  printing  headquarters 
(as  in  Singapore,  Java,  Beirut,  and  Cairo),  the  Christian 
bookshop,  like  the  rest  of  distribution,  is  largely  dependent 
on  the  initiative  and  amateur  care  of  the  missionary,  already 
busy  with  a  hundred  other  things.  As  a  rule  a  bookshop  so 
managed  does  not  pay.  Neither  the  discount  nor  the  demand 
are  large  enough  to  support  much  outlay. 

“Missionary  bookshops  have  been  tried  for  many  years 
and  have  not  been  successful  except  perhaps  in  the  sale  of 
school  books.  The  present  tendency  seems  to  be  that  after 
another  year  only  two  Mission  bookshops  will  be  left  (outside 
of  Cairo),  in  place  of  the  eight  that  were  in  operation  a  few 
years  ago.  Mr.  Caldwell,  the  American  Mission  Book  Agent, 
says  that  his  shops  cost  more  than  colporteurs  and  sell  much 
less.  (A.  T.  Upson,  Egypt.)  The  superintendent  of  colpor¬ 
teurs  in  Palestine  is  equally  insistent  that  a  shop,  besides 
involving  expenditure  on  rent,  ties  up  a  worker  or  workers, 
who  would  dispose  of  more  books  if  they  tramped  the  country¬ 
side.  On  the  other  hand  a  shop,  like  everything  else,  yields 
more  or  less  of  result  according  to  the  personal  power  put 
into  it.  Even  in  Aden,  the  bookshop  of  the  Danish  Mission 
is  flourishing,  because  one  missionary  puts  his  heart  and  soul 
into  it. 

Any  one  passing  the  bookshops  of  a  Moslem  city  can  see 
at  once  that  they  are  not  only  shops,  but  reading  centres.  A 
friend  of  the  proprietor  or  a  prospective  purchaser  squats  in 
a  corner  poring  over  a  book.  Advantage  has  been  taken  of 
this  habit  by  various  missionaries,  who  combine  a  bookshop 
with  a  room,  where  men  can  read  and  talk.  In  Damascus, 

[237] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


an  important  and  hitherto  neglected  distribution  centre,  the 
Danish  mission  has  opened  such  a  reading-room-shop.  Some 
of  the  leading  Arabic  newspapers  are  always  there,  together 
with  Christian  papers  like  Orient  and  Occident  and  Beshair 
es  Salam,  and  a  good  stock  of  books.  A  rather  similar  ven¬ 
ture  is  being  made  in  Stamboul.  In  the  city  of  Fez  one  of  the 
small  group  of  converts  from  Islam  is  conducting,  as  a  private 
venture,  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  Christian  books  and  of  medi¬ 
cines.  In  ‘Iraq,  where  “Bible  shops  in  all  stations  have  a 
supply  of  other  Christian  literature  for  sale  and  free  distribu¬ 
tion,”  the  shop  in  Kuweit  was  opened  also  as  one  of  these 
reading  and  conversation  centres.  “Arabic  newspapers  and 
the  Illustrated  London  News  were  on  the  table.  There  was 
complete  freedom  of  speech  for  everybody.”  Does  such  a 
bookshop-reading-room  pay?  Financially,  no.  As  an  evange¬ 
listic  agency  it  is  fairly  true  to  say  that  it  pays  in  proportion 
to  the  love  and  power  and  tact  put  into  it.  The  bookshop,  it 
has  been  said,  was  one  of  the  main  keys  to  open  East  Arabia 
to  mission  work.  Where  an  evangelistic  missionary  believes 
in  literature,  and  also  needs  a  city  centre  whence  he  can  make 
personal  contacts,  perhaps  using  an  inner  room  for  small 
classes  and  discussion  circles,  such  a  bookshop  may  “pay” 
spiritually,  though  it  may  not  sell  more  books  than  would 
an  active  pedlar  with  his  pack. 

Some  of  the  mission  bookshops  of  the  past  have  deserved 
to  fail.  The  small  stock  of  goods  has  not  been  well  displayed, 
but  locked  for  safety.  No  novelty  has  attracted  faces  to  the 
window.  Mr.  Upson  tells  us  that  some  of  the  Moslem  Arabic 
bookshops  of  Cairo  list  as  many  as  2000  different  books. 
Where  our  total  from  all  sources  can  only  reach  a  few  hun¬ 
dred — exclusive  of  small  leaflets  for  free  distribution, — we 
need  to  make  the  most  of  each  novelty  as  it  comes  along.  In 
Jerusalem,  cheap,  coloured  Bible  pictures  attracted  non-Chris¬ 
tian  purchasers  into  a  bookshop.  What  we  have  sometimes 
done  is  to  put  in  charge  of  a  bookshop  a  Christian  worker  of 
eastern  birth,  quite  untrained  to  his  trade.  We  have  given 
him  a  shop  with  a  glass  window.  He  might  have  known  what 
to  do  with  a  carpet  on  which  the  neighbours  sat,  drank  coffee 

[238] 


CIRCULATION 


and  thumbed  his  books ;  but  for  the  better  preservation  of  our 
stock,  we  gave  him  a  glass  window,  cupboards  and  a  counter, 
and  we  left  him  in  his  semi-western  shop,  quite  untrained  to 
western  methods  of  display  and  attraction.  Moreover,  we 
gave  him  a  small  fixed  salary,  not  dependent  on  the  success 
of  his  trade.  The  little  shop  grew  dusty,  and  the  worker  grew 
bored,  and  we  decided  that  bookshops  were  expensive  and  not 
worth  while. 

Turkey  encouraged  initiative  on  the  part  of  the  salesman 
by  making  his  income,  at  least  in  part,  dependent  on  his 
sales : 

*‘The  method  generally  used  has  been  to  have  a  store  or 
depot  in  each  mission  station,  supplied  from  the  centre  in 
Constantinople,  some  one  missionary  having  the  oversight  of 
the  book  department,  as  it  is  called.  The  work  of  selling  the 
literature  was  given  to  some  native  Christian,  who  made  a 
profit  on  the  books  sold,  varying  from  15-20  per  cent  of  the 
catalogue  price,  and  rendered  a  monthly  report  to  the  mis¬ 
sionary  in  charge.”  {Turkish  Report.) 

Since  distribution  is,  at  the  best,  bound  to  be  costly,  com¬ 
mission  to  the  salesman  may  be  one  of  the  most  economical 
methods  of  expenditure,  for  it  is  not  involved  without  an 
actual  result  in  books  sold. 

There  remains  one  more  type  of  bookshop  to  mention, 
which,  with  fuller  European  contacts,  will  probably  need  to 
be  developed  in  the  great  centres  of  intercourse  and  popula¬ 
tion.  In  cities  where  European  bookshops  are  displaying  all 
the  least  desirable  elements  of  European  literature,  it  is  vital 
that  at  least  one  bookstore  shall  display  both  Christian  re¬ 
ligious  books  from  Europe,  and  also  (in  eastern  cities,  which 
so  readily  accept  the  thinnest  veneei  of  western  culture)  works 
of  moment,  and  of  serious  thought  on  all  manner  of  topics. 
Such  a  store  is  desirable,  not  only  for  the  European  elements 
of  the  population,  cut  off  as  they  are  from  many  of  the  moral 
sanctions  of  their  home  lands,  but  for  the  whole  class  of 
western-educated  Moslems.  And  such  a  store,  in  connection 
with  the  organised  book-trade  of  Europe,  may,  with  ordinary 

[239] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


commercial  skill,  be  made  to  pay,  if  it  be  opened  in  a  suffi¬ 
ciently  populous  centre. 

The  Rev.  Percy  Smith,  of  Algiers,  says :  ‘T  brought  back 
from  Egypt  the  idea  firmly  fixed  in  my  mind,  of  the  supreme 
importance  and  necessity  of  a  Christian  bookstore.  I  do  not 
mean  a  small  Bible  depot;  we  have  several  of  these  already; 
but  a  bookstore  well  stocked  with  all  the  best  French  and 
Arabic  religious  literature.  I  believe  we  ought  to  consider 
eventually  establishing  such  a  store  in  each  of  our  principal 
stations.  The  C.M.S.  bookshop  in  Cairo  made  me  envious. 
It  is  furnished  with  a  great  assortment  of  English  books, 
religious,  theological,  instructive  and  recreative.  There  is  not 
such  a  store  in  all  Algeria  and  Tunisia,  where  you  can  find 
exposed  to  view  the  best  French  works  on  religion.  In  a 
bookstore  of  this  kind  could  be  stocked  all  that  is  best  of  Arabic 
literature.  We  must  not  forget  that  Arabic-speaking  Chris¬ 
tians  have  produced  a  considerable  literature  which  is  of 
great  value.  By  this  means,  one  could  establish  a  point  of 
contact  with  Arab  literates.  Such  a  store  would  be  an  intellec¬ 
tual  and  religious  centre  for  the  European,  Arab  and  Kabyle.” 

CIRCULATION  BY  MISSIONARIES  AND  ASSOCIATE  WORKERS 

Curiously  enough,  the  very  existence  of  a  group  of  amateur 
helpers  in  the  missionary  body,  eager  for  the  circulation  of 
literature,  has  sometimes  prevented  a  serious  dealing  with 
the  question.  The  missionaries  have  been  the  chief  purchasers 
and  the  chief  distributors  of  literature :  and  editions  have 
been  largely  limited  by  the  probable  quantity  that  missionary 
purchasers  will  absorb. 

‘‘Most  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press  books  are  sold  to  twenty 
or  thirty  other  lands  and  the  mail  order  system  has  been 
found  very  successful,”  says  the  memorandum  already  quoted. 
“The  geographic  areas  in  which  the  natural  constituency  for 
work  is  found  are  Syria,  Palestine,  Mesopotamia,  Egypt, 
North  Africa,  Persia,  India,  the  Philippines,  and  the  Syrian 
communities  of  North  and  South  America  and  the  British 
Empire,”  says  the  report  from  the  Beirut  Press. 

[240] 


CIRCULATION 


These  sentences  indicate  that,  in  the  case  of  the  two  great¬ 
est  producing  bodies  of  the  Near  East,  the  bulk  of  the  product 
is  disposed  of  in  export  trade.  But  who  are  the  purchasers 
in  foreign  parts?  With  so  few  exceptions  as  to  be  almost 
negligible  they  are  the  missionaries.  As  a  European  publisher 
disposes  of  his  stock  to  the  bookselling  trade,  so  the  missionary 
publisher  (except  in  so  far  as  he  has  developed  bookshop  or 
colportage  work  of  his  own)  has  disposed  of  his  stock  to  the 
missionary.  The  bulk  of  the  product  has  been  distributed 
by  the  voluntary,  amateur  effort  of  the  missionary.  All 
honour  to  him !  His  methods  as  a  distributor  have  been 
many.  Missionaries  have  little  bookshops;  they  enclose  tracts 
in  letters;  they  sell  books  from  a  Bible  van  {Algeria)  from 
houseboats  {Egypt)  or  a  special  car  on  the  railways  {Egypt). 
They  use  the  Sunday  schools  as  a  base  for  distribution  {The 
Sudan  and  many  other  countries)  ;  they  keep  a  supply  in  their 
own  homes;  they  take  them  out  for  sale  in  villages  or  outly¬ 
ing  districts. 

The  Indian  Report  says  : 

“To-day,  perhaps  a  greater  number  of  gospels  and  tracts 
and  books  for  Moslems  find  their  way  to  their  intended  des¬ 
tination  by  the  hand  of  the  missionary  and  his  Indian  co¬ 
worker  than  by  any  other  way.  The  modern  missionary,  in 
starting  out  for  a  tour  in  his  “Ford”  does  not  fail  to  see  that 
it  is  stocked  with  a  generous  supply  of  Gospels  and  tracts  for 
sale  and  distribution  in  the  bazaars,  villages  and  melas  where 
he  goes  to  preach.  In  fact,  all  over  India,  the  aim  is  for 
every  evangelistic  missionary  and  Indian  worker  to  he  a 
colporteur  and  distribution  centre  for  Gospels,  books  and 
tracts.  Consequently,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  missionary 
engaged  in  evangelistic  work,  who  does  not  religiously  keep 
one  or  two  almirahs  well  stocked  with  a  fairly  extensive 
variety  of  literature,  which  he  systematically  supplies  to  his 
workers  for  sale  and  free  distribution. 

When  the  missionary  and  his  fellow  workers  go  to  the 
bazaars  and  melas  or  'urses  large  quantities  of  literature  are 
disposed  of  annually.  At  such  time,  a  common  method  is  to 
have  a  central  place  for  preaching,  and  the  men  take  turns 

[241] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


for  five  or  ten  minutes  each,  when  at  the  close,  an  exhortation 
is  given  to  read  the  Kitab  'al  Muqaddas.  This  is  the  signal 
for  all  the  workers  present  to  begin  to  move  about,  to  sell 
and  distribute  their  books  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  when 
the  preaching  begins  again.  This  method  is  successful,  and 
is  strongly  recommended.” 

Travelling  missionaries  in  many  lands  form  a  sort  of 
flying  squadron  for  the  distribution  of  literature,  seeking  new 
points  of  entry. 

Thus  the  report  says,  ‘‘Christian  literature  has  entered  the 
Hedjaz  only  through  the  occasional  visits  of  missionaries  or 
colporteurs  at  Jiddah,  and  through  the  pilgrimages.” 

Or  again,  in  the  Sahara : 

“It  has  been  possible  to  open  Touzer  at  the  southwest 
extremity  of  Tunisia,  a  station  which  is  itself  the  centre  of  a 
large  group  of  oases,  and  in  its  turn  much  linked  with  another 
large  group  five  days  further  on  into  the  desert,  called  the 
Oued  Souf.  These  desert  towns,  of  which  Touzer  is  the  first 
to  be  opened,  are  the  headquarters  of  the  Moslem  brother¬ 
hoods  which  are  the  chief  force  of  propaganda.  The  men  are 
great  readers  and  accept  willingly  the  tracts  of  the  Nile  Mis¬ 
sion  Press.  This  is  the  most  practical  way,  at  present  of 
reaching  the  hinterland  whence  the  advance  of  Islam  on  pagan 
lands  is  made.”  {Algerian  Mission  Band  Report.) 

MISSION  HOSPITALS  AS  CENTRES  OF  DISTRIBUTION 

The  hospitals  along  the  northwest  frontier  of  India, 
drawing  many  patients  from  beyond  the  frontier,  have  sent 
these  back  into  Afghanistan  and  Beluchistan  with  Christian 
booklets.  The  hospitals  at  Old  Cairo  and  at  Assiut  are  large 
purchasers  of  literature;  Egyptian  mission  hospitals  devised 
also  a  scheme  of  simple  instruction  for  out-patients,  and  a 
series  of  leaflets  for  distribution  in  direct  connection  with 
the  lessons.  The  lesson  and  leaflet  reinforced  each  other,  a 
point  of  great  importance  when  one  remembers  the  very  fleet¬ 
ing  contact  that  we  gain  with  the  mind  of  the  average 
out-patient. 

At  the  Nablus  Hospital,  Palestine,  the  doctor  has  a  per- 
[242] 


1 


CIRCULATION 


sonal  interview  of  farewell  with  every  patient  upon  his  leav¬ 
ing.  This  has  often  been  used  as  an  opportunity  for  sending 
a  Christian  booklet  to  a  village  home,  or  out  beyond  the  Jor¬ 
dan.  In  many  hospitals  books  are  offered  for  sale.  “Many 
patients  come  after  the  morning  service  in  the  mission  hos¬ 
pital,  Aden,  and  voluntarily  offer  to  purchase  one  of  the  Gos¬ 
pels,  if  not  a  larger  book.  The  ''Khutbas''  published  by  the 
Nile  Mission  Press  are  eagerly  read.” 

Persia  has  carried  this  method  further  still.  The  doctor 
in  charge  at  Ispahan  writes : 

“We  have  opened  a  bookroom  and  reading-room  in  the 
hospital.  Any  visitors  to  the  hospital  can  go  there  and  read 
books,  and  also  buy  copies  of  the  Scriptures  and  other  re¬ 
ligious  books.  The  room  was  opened  at  the  beginning  of 
May,  1919,  and  in  the  seven  months  from  that  date  to  the 
end  of  November,  we  had  964  visitors  to  the  room,  either 
as  purchasers  or  readers.  We  have  sold  also  273  Scriptures, 
or  portions  of  Scripture,  and  eighty-six  copies  of  other  re¬ 
ligious  books  and  tracts.  The  room  has  also  opened  the  way 
for  many  conversations  on  religious  topics.  At  first  the 
room  was  not  in  a  very  prominent  part  of  the  hospital,  but  we 
have  lately  moved  it  to  the  porch,  and  I  hope  that  in  future 
we  shall  get  still  more  visitors  and  sell  more  books.” 

COLPORTAGE 

The  very  existence  of  a  force  of  voluntary  helpers,  in  the 
missionary  body  that  has  done  so  great  a  work  of  purchasing 
and  distribution,  has  perhaps  hindered  the  publication  societies 
from  a  more  effective  cultivation  of  their  own  direct  touch 
with  the  public.  The  great  method  for  such  direct  sale  is  by 
colportage.  Almost  every  field  from  China  westward  reports 
the  use  of  this  plan,  whether  by  the  missionary  societies  or  by 
the  publication  bodies  themselves,  and  nearly  every  field  re¬ 
ports  also  a  desire  for  its  immediate  increase. 

“Two  colporteurs  as  mission  agents  in  each  central  station 
would  be  none  too  much.”  {North  African  Report.) 

“In  our  island  world  of  Malaysia,  many  of  the  people 

[243] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


live  in  places  exceedingly  difficult  of  access  by  the  missionaries, 
and  we  believe  that  our  scattered  population  can  best  be 
reached  by  the  printed  page.  The  success  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  in  its  widespread  colportage  work,  the 
equally  successful  experiments  of  the  mission  at  Solo,  and  the 
increasing  readiness  of  the  various  races  in  Malaysia  to  pur¬ 
chase  the  Scripture  portions  which  have  been  distributed  by 
tens  of  thousands  for  the  past  thirty  years,  encourage  us  to 
believe  that  a  similar  distribution  of  carefully  prepared  books 
and  tracts  would  be  the  best  possible  means  of  reaching  the 
Moslems  of  Malaysia.”  {Malaysia  Report.) 

In  Palestine  and  in  Persia,  also,  colportage  is  possible  and 
effective,  provided  that  there  is  willingness  to  face  risks.  A 
missionary  of  the  Bible  Society  recently  wrote  “At  Kum 
which  is  a  sacred  city  with  the  Moslems  of  Persia,  one  col¬ 
porteur  sold  over  fifty  volumes  in  a  couple  of  days;  but  he 
added  “I  was  beaten  thrice  as  the  people  took  me  for  a 
Bahai.” 

India  is  the  only  country  which  reports  no  desire  for  an 
increase  of  the  colportage  system.  But  let  none  misunder¬ 
stand  the  intention  of  the  Indian  report.  India  is  not  asking 
for  more  professional  colporteurs,  because  she  has  gone 
further  and  adopted  the  valuable  principle  ‘‘Every  mission 
worker  a  colporteur.’’  Recently  when  in  Sindh  it  was  im¬ 
possible,  owing  to  political  conditions,  for  foreign  mission¬ 
aries  to  continue  bazaar  work,  Indian  Christians  went  out 
regularly  at  the  preaching  hour  and  most  successfully  carried 
on  the  sale  of  Christian  literature. 

Mr.  Upson,  in  his  important  memorandum  on  the  question 
of  circulation  in  Egypt,  lays  bare  for  us  a  situation  demanding 
instant  action.  He  says  that  missionaries  are  asking  for 
“greater  production,”  and  colporteurs  are  “always  clamouring 
for  new  books,”  while  his  publication  committee  turns  down 
more  than  half  the  manuscripts  submitted  to  it  by  Egyptian 
friends.  Yet  with  all  this,  he  speaks  of  a  “glut”  on  the  store 
shelves  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  and  feels  that  “production 
has  been  too  rapid.”  Too  rapid,  when  the  whole  output  of 
this  central  Arabic  Christian  Press,  its  whole  library  on  all 

[244] 


CIRCULATION 


available  subjects  can  be  bought  for  £5?  Too  rapid,  when 
missionaries  who  best  know  the  field  are  all  eager  for  far- 
reaching  new  developments  of  literature? 

Yes,  too  rapid,  because  effective  plans  for  circulation  have 
not  gone  on  hand  in  hand  with  the  growth  of  literature.  In 
the  country  in  which  it  works,  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  together 
with  the  other  literature-producing  societies  circulates  its 
product  by  means  of  fifteen  colporteurs,  just  now  reduced  to 
ten.  Apart  from  its  book  depot  in  the  Press  building,  and 
the  voluntary  help  of  missionaries,  these  ten  men  with  their 
packs,  now  represent  the  sole  machinery  of  circulation  of  the 
Nile  Mission  Press  in  Egypt, — less  than  one  man  to  a  million 
of  the  population.  Palestine,  with  its  total  population  of 
700,000,  can  keep  five  colporteurs  busy  and  ask  for  more. 
The  Bible  Society,  selling  Scriptures  only,  has,  Mr.  Upson 
tells  us,  twenty  men  always  at  work  in  the  Nile  Valley  south 
of  Cairo,  where  now  six  colporteurs  are  all  who  sell  all  the 
rest  of  Christian  literature.  And  yet  some  other  countries 
look  to  Egypt  as  a  field  where  colportage  work  is  well  devel¬ 
oped.  If  these  ten  colporteurs  represent  Egypt’s  contribution 
to  literature  circulation,  and  if  Egypt  is  ahead  of  some  other 
countries,  no  wonder  there  is  a  glut  on  the  store-shelves.  To 
any  member  of  a  home  publishing  firm,  the  situation  would 
seem  ludicrous.  To  those  with  a  longing  for  the  voice  of 
Christ  to  be  heard,  it  is  deplorable,  and  calls  for  an  imme¬ 
diate  righting  of  the  proportions  of  our  work. 

“The  work  of  colportage  is  so  important,  the  circulation  of 
the  Gospel  message,  not  wholesale  but  in  detail,  not  in  gross 
but  individually — that  it  was  and  is  worth  any  pains  to  put 
that  work  on  the  best  possible  footing.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

CO-OPERATION  IN  COLPORTAGE 

Only  two  fields,  Turkey  and  Egypt,  tell  of  a  co-operative 
scheme  for  colportage : 

“For  distribution  we  are  co-operating  with  the  Levant 
Agency  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  This  Agency  has  all 
the  organisation  necessary  for  the  distribution  of  the  Scrip- 

[245] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tures,  and  the  present  agent,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Ryan,  has  kindly 
consented  to  handle  the  distribution  of  the  Christian  literature 
produced  by  our  publication  department,  in  connection  with  the 
distribution  of  the  Bible.”  {Turkish  Report.) 

“In  Egypt  we  have  a  joint  colportage  committee  which 
is  a  co-operative  missionary  committee  for  organising  the 
distribution  of  Christian  books  and  tracts  in  all  parts  of  Egypt 
by  means  of  colporteurs.  The  colporteurs  are  proportioned 
among  the  different  organisations  and  supported  by  grants  in 
aid  from  the  societies  concerned  in  the  scheme,  but  the  extent 
of  such  support  is  proving  utterly  inadequate  in  view  of  the 
opportunities.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

Such  schemes  will  no  doubt  be  developed  in  the  near  future 
by  the  literature  committees  springing  into  existence  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  inter-mission  councils  in  different  countries. 
They  should  have  the  effect  of  equalising  distribution  over  a 
given  area.  Thus,  at  present,  in  the  Syria  and  Palestine  area, 
Nile  Mission  Press  colporteurs  work  in  Palestine,  and  Amer¬ 
ican  Board  colporteurs  in  Northern  Syria,  while  the  Beirut 
Press  has  hardly  yet  been  able  to  initiate  colportage  in  the 
important  central  belt  including  Beirut,  The  Lebanon  and 
Damascus. 

Co-operative  schemes  should  also  make  it  possible  to 
mobilise  the  whole  colportage  staff  in  one  centre  for  special 
work  during  some  national  or  religious  feast,  or  for  a  week 
of  training  and  devotion.  They  should  also  make  possible  a 
common  provident  fund  for  their  employees.  They  can  only 
do  well  on  a  basis  of  mutual  trust  and  determination  that  the 
literature  of  all  the  sharing  bodies  shall  circulate  on  equal 
terms  in  all  the  field. 

But  co-operative  schemes  need  staffing.  In  Egypt,  the 
Nile  Mission  Press  generously  gives  about  a  quarter  of  Mr. 
Upson’s  time  to  the  superintendence  of  the  joint  scheme. 
But  he  tells  us  that  the  work  must  now  claim  one  man’s  whole 
attention : 

“As  colporteur  inspector,  I  am  supposed  myself  to  travel 
about  and  visit  the  men;  and  in  fact  I  have  probably  slept 
in  the  houses  of  colporteurs  and  native  evangelists  as  much 
[246] 


CIRCULATION 


as  any  ons;  but  can  I  be  editor  and  colporteur  at  the  same 
time?  What  is  needed  is  the  provision  of  the  salary  and  the 
expensive  travelling  of  a  colporteur  inspector,  who  should 
be  out  with  the  men  about  nine  months  of  the  year,  and  even 
the  remaining  time  he  would  keep  in  touch  with  them  by 
correspondence  and  direct  all  their  movements.” 


111.  Advertising 

ENLISTING  THE  CO-OPERATION  OF  MISSIONARIES 

It  is  plain  enough  that  missionaries  are  the  principal  pur¬ 
chasers  and  distributors  of  the  literature  produced.  It  is 
quite  equally  clear  that  the  publishing  bodies  have  not,  as  a 
rule,  given  guidance  and  suggestion  to  such  helpers.  The 
initiative  in  circulation  has  come  from  the  individual  mis¬ 
sionary,  and  the  work  has  remained  chiefly  individual.  Neither 
have  the  publication  bodies  done  much  in  the  way  of  adver¬ 
tisement  within  the  missionary  body  and  still  less  outside. 
Probably  no  other  literature  has  attained  so  large  a  circulation 
with  so  little  advertising.  The  devotion  of  the  few  who  are 
pushing  the  circulation  of  the  literature  has  perhaps  shut  the 
eyes  of  the  missionary  publishers  to  the  fact  that  they  are  so 
few.  In  two  directions  there  seems  abundant  need  of  work  on 
the  part  of  the  committees  responsible  for  literature  production : 

1.  Fuller  guidance  and  more  strategic  planning  for  the 
work  of  those  who  already  help  in  circulation. 

2.  A  planned  policy  of  education,  which  shall  bring  the 
use  and  importance  of  literature  before  every  missionary,  and 
seek  to  enlist  the  help  of  all  instead  of  that  of  the  few.  Hos¬ 
pitals,  for  instance,  were  mentioned  above  which  are  doing 
notable  things  in  literature  distribution.  But  other  hospitals 
might  have  been  mentioned  which  are  doing  nothing.  The 
doctors  are  busy,  and  the  question  has  never  been  brought 
before  them  in  a  practical  way.  This  lack  of  direction  is 
manifest  all  along  the  line. 

In  India  one  writer  states :  ‘All  make  their  own  arrange- 

[2473 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

merits,  and  there  is  no  concerted  action.  There  is  evident  lack 
of  direction,  and  much  more  could  be  accomplished  if  special 
steps  were  taken  to  stimulate  co-operation  and  activity.  The 
average  worker  carries  a  stock  of  books  that  he  trusts  will 
somehow  be  suitable  to  all  whom  he  may  chance  to  meet.” 
Others  say  that  the  situation  is  not  quite  so  hopeless. 

Turkey  says : 

“So  far,  co-operation  has  been  unorganised  and  undi¬ 
rected.  In  this  respect  radical  changes  must  be  made  as  soon 
as  the  country  is  opened  up  again.” 

A  publication  committee  that  values  the  co-operation  of 
missionaries  will  have,  henceforth,  to  plan  for  careful  educa¬ 
tion  of  the  missionary  forces,  along  some  of  the  following 
lines : 

(a)  Visits  to  missionaries’  language  schools,  with  ad¬ 
dresses  on  the  literature  available  for  different  sections  of 
the  community  and  hints  as  to  its  use. 

(b)  Exhibits  of  available  literature  at  all  types  of  mis¬ 
sionary  conferences, — the  sight  of  a  book  does  more  to  com¬ 
mend  it  than  any  catalog  description.  Permission  can 
generally  be  given  to  a  representative  of  a  literature  committee 
for  a  five  minutes  speech  introducing  the  latest  book. 

(c)  Stronger  postal  advertising.  Very  little  has  been 
done  beyond  publishing  a  general  descriptive  catalog  of  the 
products  of  any  one  publishing  society.  But  not  every  busy 
person  looks  intelligently  at  a  catalog.  We  need  something 
between  a  bulletin  and  a  personal  letter,  introducing  the  new 
books,  with  full  explanation  as  to  the  people  we  hope  to 
reach  through  them,  and  perhaps  a  paragraph  or  two  from 
the  author,  saying  what  were  his  hopes  in  writing  the  work. 
And  from  time  to  time  we  should  produce  resumes  of  all  the 
literature  now  available  for  some  special  purpose,  e.g.,  all 
tracts  suitable  for  out-patient  distribution,  with  description 
of  their  use  in  some  particular  dispensary;  or,  at  the  right 
time  of  year,  all  books  suitable  for  school  prizes,  with  particu¬ 
lars  of  their  cost  when  put  into  a  prize  binding;  or  again  all 
books  and  pamphlets  dealing  with  certain  definite  Moslem 
difficulties  or  with  modern  scientific  difficulties  about  the  faith. 

[248] 


CIRCULATION 


If  the  proposed  Press  Bureau  is  established,  it  should  be  able 
to  place  such  articles  in  all  the  missionary  periodicals  read  in 
the  language  area  concerned. 

We  must  not  fear  to  set  aside  a  sufficient  sum  for  postal 
advertisement  within  such  a  dependable  constituency  as  the 
missionary  body. 


GENERAL  ADVERTISING 

General  advertising  outside  the  missionary  circle  has  also 
been  very  slight.  The  American  Press  in  Beirut  sends  out 
its  bilingual  catalog  to  all  interested  parties  and  sometimes 
samples  of  publications.  The  Nile  Mission  Press  also  circu¬ 
lates  a  catalog  to  a  list  of  friends ;  for  the  rest  it  may  be  said 
that  co-operation,  whether  foreign  or  native,  in  circulation  of 
the  product  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press  is  directed  and  stimu¬ 
lated  by  personal  efforts  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Zwemer  and  the 
missionaries  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press  and  World’s  Sunday 
School  Association,  with  an  occasional  advertising  circular. 
Mr.  Upson  refers  to  newspaper  publicity: 

“Dr.  Zwemer  was  the  pioneer  in  this  field  and  he — or  any 
of  us — could  insert  a  ten  line  advertisement  in  a  Cairo  daily 
paper  for  about  £i  per  day  or  £300  per  year.  In  one  case 
such  an  insertion  brought  sixty-seven  replies. 

Another  method  and  an  even  better  one  is  to  insert  articles 
— chatty  verbose  articles — which  people  are  much  more  in¬ 
clined  to  read  than  advertisements.  In  certain  cases  and  to 
a  limited  extent  such  articles  could  be  inserted  in  some  papers. 
Canon  Gairdner  invited  me  to  do  this  in  Orient  and  Occident; 
only  pressure  of  work  has  prevented  the  continuance  of  the 
articles.” 

There  is  the  rub.  The  task  of  promoting  circulation  and 
of  advertising,  work  which  is  a  fine  art,  has  been  left  to  the 
spare  time  of  overburdened  workers. 

The  opportunities  of  the  post  must  not  be  forgotten.  “The 
Cairo  Moslem  press  has  regular  agents  for  the  Moslem  groups 
of  South  America.  It  seems  important  to  have  some  central 
Christian  agency  in  South  America  to  use  the  post  for  the 

[249] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


distribution  of  literature  as  was  so  efficiently  done  in  China 
for  many  years  by  the  Rev.  F.  E.  Rhodes.’’  {Report  on 
isolated  groups  of  Moslems.) 

“By  means  of  the  post  all  the  Kabyle  and  Arab  school¬ 
masters  of  the  country  could  be  reached.”  {North  African 
Report. ) 

Other  bodies  with  a  cause  to  forward  are  recognising  the 
value  of  postal  advertising.  The  ordinary  Indian  stamped 
postcard  used  to  sell  at  one  pice,  but  we  learn  that  the 
Ahmadiyas  sold  them  at  three  for  a  pice,  the  space  for  writ¬ 
ing  reduced  by  one-half  because  they  had  printed  on  the  other 
half  statements  in  Mussulmani-Bengali  about  their  tenets  and 
work.  The  cost  to  them  was  two-thirds  of  the  price  of  each 
postcard,  plus  the  price  of  the  printing.  But  they  thought  it 
worth  while  as  mission  policy. 


IV.  The  Personnel  of  Circulation 

NEEDED,  CIRCULATION  MANAGERS 

To  say  that  the  crux  of  the  problem  is  the  selection,  ap¬ 
pointment  and  support  of  a  circulation  manager  or  publicity 
agent  is  to  state  nothing  new ;  it  has  all  been  stated  before  and 
agreed  to  time  and  again.  Surely  at  last  we  shall  take  steps 
that  the  skilled  task  of  the  circulation  manager  has  the  devo¬ 
tion  and  attention  of  a  special  worker.  When  we  do  so  we 
must  see  to  it  that  he  is  in  closest  touch  with  the  productive 
agency,  and  if  possible  is  himself  a  member  of  the  publication 
committee  for  his  field.  It  is  important  to  such  a  committee 
in  considering  new  manuscripts  to  have  with  them  one  with 
his  finger  on  the  pulse  of  circulation, — though  the  hope  of  a 
large  circulation  will  not  be  the  only  factor  that  decides  them 
in  publishing  a  book. 

To  the  circulation  manager  it  is  important  to  know  be¬ 
forehand  the  plans  of  the  producers.  This  foreknowledge 
has  been  very  rare  and  we  sometimes  hear  wails  about  shelves 
full  of  superseded  books.  If  the  new  book  really  carries  our 

[250] 


CIRCULATION 


message  better  to  the  present  generation,  it  is  right  for  the 
old  to  give  place.  But  when  both  are  valuable  for  present 
needs,  it  is  important  to  sell  out  the  duller  looking  first  edition 
of  the  old  before  the  new  book  appears  on  the  scenes,  and  then 
let  both  books  sell  together  in  an  attractive  up-to-date  dress. 
Any  intelligent  handling  of  the  circulation  problem  involves, 
too,  what  has  not  always  taken  place  under  former  systems,  a 
method  of  stock-taking  which  places  before  every  member 
of  a  publication  committee,  at  least  once  a  year,  the  number 
of  copies  in  stock  of  every  publication.  Without  such  infor¬ 
mation  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  intelligent  co-operation  in 
circulation. 


LOCAL  CIRCULATION  SECRETARIES 

In  Egypt  one  society,  the  C.M.S.,  appointed  its  own  secre¬ 
tary  for  book  circulation.  “He  receives  an  early  copy  of 
every  new  publication  and  keeps  his  men  informed  on  the 
subject,  stirring  them  up  from  time  to  time  and  getting  orders. 
This  should  be  developed.”  (A.  T.  Upson.) 

A  corps  of  such  responsible  circulation  agents  in  different 
localities  might  make  all  the  difference  to  the  task  of  a  central 
publicity  agent  or  circulation  manager.  But  in  order  to  get 
the  most  from  such  work,  each  station  concerned  needs  to 
have  a  certain  spending  power  over  funds  earmarked  for 
literature.  Much  of  what  has  been  done  in  the  past  has  come 
from  the  missionary’s  own  pocket.  Mr.  Upson’s  memorandum 
suggests  that  the  use  of  literature  funds  allotted  to  any  sta¬ 
tion  should  be  safeguarded  by  annual  returns  to  the  mission, 
or  to  the  central  literature  committee,  on  some  such  lines  as 
the  following,  which  he  quotes  as  adopted  by  the  Madura  Mis¬ 
sion  of  the  American  Board: 

“Every  missionary  is  required  to  fill  up  a  return  contain¬ 
ing  the  following  particulars : 

“Number  of  Bibles  sold  or  given. 

“Number  of  Testaments  and  portions  sold  or  given. 

“Number  of  tracts  given  or  sold. 

“Number  of  other  books  sold. 

“Amounts  received  for  Bibles  and  portions. 


[251] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


‘Amounts  received  for  other  books.’’ 

This  form  has  been  filled  up  regularly  with  great  advan¬ 
tage  to  the  mission.  Many  a  young  missionary  would  not  have 
felt  the  importance  of  Christian  literature,  but  the  return 
required  him  to  give  it  attention.  A  similar  policy  has  been 
adopted  by  the  Arabian  Mission. 

TRAINING  AND  STATUS  OF  COLPORTEURS 

The  colporteur,  as  he  enters  a  Moslem  village,  is,  perhaps, 
the  one  witness  for  Christ  known  and  read  of  all  men,  right 
down  among  the  people,  one  of  themselves. 

Of  what  serious  importance,  then,  is  the  training  and 
attitude  of  such  a  man.  Egypt,  quoted  as  the  exemplar  for 
the  rest  of  us,  confesses  to  abundant  cause  for  discontent  with 
her  best  efforts  so  far. 

“The  high  cost  of  living  of  colporteurs  and  the  low  esti¬ 
mate  put  upon  this  profession  make  it  extremely  difficult  to 
secure  good  men  for  the  task.”  (Egyptian  Report.) 

We  cannot  but  blame  ourselves.  The  low  estimate  which 
we  ourselves  have  put  upon  the  task  of  circulating  literature 
has  made  us  unwilling  to  expend  sufficient  money  to  train 
men  well,  and  to  pay  a  trained  man’s  salary. 

“The  adequate,  broad,  unsectarian  training  of  colporteurs 
is  a  crying  need.  The  ideal  colporteur  or  salesman  should  at 
least  know  the  contents  and  literary  value  of  the  wares  he 
sells.  This  is  far  from  being  the  case  at  present.”  (Egyptian 
Report. ) 

Mr.  Upson  says:  “We  need  better  educated  colporteurs. 
Those  in  Palestine  under  my  colleague,  the  Rev.  Archibald 
Forder,  are  evangelists  to  begin  with,  and  they  draw  the  com¬ 
paratively  large  salary  of  L.E.  9  to  lo  per  month.  Of  course 
it  is  well  worth  it.” 

In  Kuweit  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  colporteurs  preached 
in  turn  at  the  Sunday  evangelistic  services.  It  was  found, 
when  this  custom  was  begun,  that  it  increased  their  prestige 
in  the  town  when  they  went  about,  on  other  days  selling  books. 
But  such  service  demands  an  evangelist’s  training. 

[252] 


CIRCULATION 


Mr.  Van  Peursem,  writing  in  The  Moslem  World  for  July, 
1921,  emphasised  the  personal  side  of  colportage  in  Arabia. 
“Salesmanship,”  he  said,  “is  but  a  small  part  of  the  colpor¬ 
teur’s  job.  The  object  is  not  to  make  a  sale  or  to  get  rid 
of  a  book,  but  to  place  it.  After  a  sale,  the  impression  should 
be  left  in  the  purchaser  that  he  got  something  good;  not  that 
he  accepted  a  book  simply  to  please  the  colporteur.” 

Has  the  time  not  come  for  us  to  set  one  standard,  and 
train  our  colporteurs  as  full  evangelists  ?  We  have  sometimes 
set  Moslem  converts,  new  to  the  Faith,  uneducated  and  of 
low  birth,  to  this  lonely  and  difficult  task  in  a  hostile  environ¬ 
ment.  Yet  it  is  by  the  life  of  the  colporteur  that  village  multi¬ 
tudes  who  never  meet  the  western  missionary  will  judge  of 
Christ.  And  his  is  work,  too,  which  might  call  out  all  the 
powers  of  a  trained  evangelist,  and  give  play  to  special  gifts : 

“If  only  we  could  get  a  supply  of  colporteurs  who  would 
follow  the  example  of  the  Meddahin  or  Rcmnyyin  and  sit  down 
and  tell  a  story!  This  demands  initiative  and  consecration, 
and  we  have  not  got  to  that  point  yet.”  {North  African 
Report.) 

What  if  these  colporteurs,  as  they  travelled,  were  the 
jongleurs  of  the  Lord?  What  if  they  knew  how  to  sing  the 
Gospel  story,  as  the  true  people’s  evangelists? 

“I  see  a  vision — or  is  it  only  a  dream? — a  vision  of  the 
day  when  we  shall  have  colporteurs  for  the  boys,  each  of 
them  a  man  with  the  boy-objective  before  him,  the  boy  hearts 
for  his  realm  to  conquer;  a  man  who  would  study  boy-nature 
and  lay  himself  out  for  it,  that  he  “might  by  all  means  save 
some.”  He  would  get  a  knot  of  them  round  him  outside  the 
village  and  give  them  bicycle  rides  or  set  them  to  run  races 
for  sweets,  till  he  had  got  into  comradeship,  and  then  tell  them 
stories  or  show  them  pictures,  and  note  who  could  read  the 
best,  and  who  was  captain  of  the  gang,  and  leave  with  them  a 
carefully  chosen  few  papers  to  read  when  he  is  gone.”  (/.  L. 
Trotter,  Algiers.) 

Somehow  we  have  differentiated  between  colporteurs  and 
the  other  evangelists  in  our  employ.  Yet  a  colporteur  who 
knows  his  business  and  loves  his  work  is  a  pilgrim-evangelist 

[253] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


all  the  time.  We  have  neither  given  to  our  colporteurs  the 
spiritual  training  that  we  give  to  other  evangelists,  nor  have 
we  given  them  the  stimulus  of  the  trader  whose  wealth  de¬ 
pends  upon  his  activity.  In  some  parts  of  India,  and  in 
Turkey,  the  colporteur’s  commission  on  books  sold  counts  as 
part  of  his  salary.  In  Egypt,  we  have  not  provided  this 
stimulus  to  activity;  our  colporteurs  work  for  a  small  fixed 
salary,  barely  a  living  wage.  And  we  have  somehow  allowed 
a  sense  to  creep  in,  that  they  are  only  pedlars,  and  with  a 
different  standing  from  the  rest  of  our  evangelistic  workers. 
This  pernicious  habit  of  mind,  is  now  firmly  fixed  in  the 
Christian  Church  in  Egypt,  so  that  strong  measures  are  needed 
to  break  it  down. 

If  we  ourselves  were  convinced  of  the  real  usefulness  of 
the  colporteur-evangelist,  we  should  no  more  grudge  the  spend¬ 
ing  of  evangelistic  funds  on  his  training  than  on  the  training 
of  other  evangelists.  But  because  we  think  of  him  only  as  a 
bookseller,  we  expect  his  training  to  be  paid  for  out  of  book¬ 
selling  funds.  If  again,  we  were  convinced  of  the  supreme 
importance  of  literature  as  an  evangelistic  agency,  we  should 
not  be  content  unless  our  whole  evangelistic  staff  was  active 
and  intelligent  in  the  circulation  of  literature.  This  has  been 
adopted  as  the  deliberate  aim  of  the  missions  of  India. 

Can  we  not  break  down  the  barrier  by  training  colpor¬ 
teurs  and  other  evangelists  together? 

The  evangelist,  who  as  part  of  his  own  training,  has  been 
out  in  the  city  with  his  teacher,  selling  Christian  literature, 
must  have  more  fellow-feeling  ever  after  for  his  brother 
whose  task  is  colportage. 

“Even  those  evangelists  who  carry  their  studies  further 
should  do  a  ‘stage’  of  colportage.”  {North  African  Report.) 

In  Constantinople,  an  Armenian  student  has  been  earning 
part  of  the  college  fees  he  cannot  otherwise  afford  to  pay,  by 
colportage  during  his  vacation.  There  is  possibly  room  for 
development  along  these  lines,  both  as  a  lesson  to  our  people 
that  such  work  is  not  “beneath”  a  student,  and  as  a  training  in 
self-help  for  students  who  are  receiving  assistance  with  their 
college  fees.  With  a  responsible  shepherd-of-colporteurs  to 

[254] 


CIRCULATION 


guide  such  work,  it  might  be  valuable  training  in  evangelism 
for  a  young  student  band. 

We  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  forget  that  the  colporteur, 
with  his  wider  range  of  contacts,  needs  just  as  careful  train¬ 
ing  in  meeting  Moslem  difficulties,  and  in  his  own  devotional 
life,  as  his  brother  whose  activities  are  bounded  by  one  station. 

This  daily  witness  of  the  colporteur,  among  people  who 
may  meet  no  other  missionary  of  Christ,  is  so  important  that 
we  must  wipe  off  the  shame  of  having  sent  out  almost  un¬ 
trained  men,  giving  them  for  shepherding  one-quarter  of  the 
time  of  a  man  on  whom  countless  other  burdens  were  laid. 

As  in  every  other  department  of  mission  work,  so  in  the 
circulation  of  literature,  our  object  must  be  to  make  ourselves 
unnecessary.  It  is  of  first  importance  that  the  indigenous 
Church  regard  the  work  of  circulation  as  her  business  and  the 
colporteur  as  her  representative,  while  all  her  ministers  are 
themselves  evangelist-colporteurs.  The  reports  are  distinctly 
discouraging  on  this  question.  They  speak  of  isolated  workers 
who  use  literature  and  circulate  it  keenly,  but  not,  so  far,  of 
corporate  action  in  the  indigenous  Churches.  Yet  perhaps 
we  have  never  set  ourselves  to  win  them  to  serious  corporate 
action.  Mr.  Upson  says  of  Egypt :  “While  I  was  visiting 
colporteurs  I  have  sometimes  been  able  to  give  special  ad¬ 
dresses  in  the  Evangelical  and  Coptic  churches  upon  the  value 
of  literature  as  an  evangelistic  agency.  Unfortunately,  these 
events  have  been  far  too  meagre,  the  difficulty  being  lack  of 
time.”  Judging  from  the  reports,  his  account  would  fairly 
represent  most  of  what  has  been  done  in  other  countries  to 
win  co-operation  of  the  churches.  In  this  connection  the 
Egyptian  report  says  further :  “The  point  at  which  special 
effort  is  needed  now,  is  the  development  of  a  local,  congrega¬ 
tional  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  use  of  literature.  We 
would  like  the  colporteur  to  be  regarded,  eventually,  as  the 
“own  missionary”  of  an  Egyptian  Church  in  every  particular 
district.  Beginnings  might  be  made  in  this  way  by  appointing 
a  superintendent  of  colporteurs,  who  not  only  visited  the  men 
and  travelled  with  them  in  their  districts,  but  visited  the  con¬ 
gregations  and  reported  to  them  on  the  colporteur’s  work, 

[255] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


promoting  holy  rivalry  between  them  as  to  their  voluntary 
efforts  of  circulation,  and  the  sales  of  their  respective 
colporteurs. 

We  pray  God  that  these  workers,  at  their  most  lonely  task, 
will  at  last  be  granted  the  training,  sympathy  and  prayer 
which  the  Church  should  give  to  her  pioneers. 


Chapter  XIV 


NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 

Does  not  the  time  seem  fipe  for  the  establishment 
of  some  agency  that  shall,  on  the  one  hand,  present 
this  opportunity  adequately  to  the  American  churches, 
and  shall,  on  the  other,  through  suitable  agencies  in 
the  various  countries  to  be  reached,  undertake  to 
utilise  the  entire  secular  press  in  non-Christian  lands 
the  world  over  for  the  proclamation  of  that  message 
which  we  are  commanded  to  make  known  to  all  men? 

— Dr.  Albertus  Pieters  of  Japan. 

After  the  Koran,  sometimes  indeed  before  the  Koran,  the 
newspaper  is  the  chief  reading  of  the  Moslem  world.  The 
Moslem  lands  of  the  East  are  the  birthplace  and  the  tomb 
of  many,  newspapers.  In  1913,  the  Hamburg  Kolonial 
Institut  purchased  a  collection  of  newspapers  in  Arabic  only, 
which  contained  130  papers  published  in  Egypt  and  the  Sudan, 
8  in  Palestine,  141  in  Syria,  32  in  Turkey,  42  in  Mesopotamia, 
38  in  North  Africa,  13  in  France,  4  in  England,  20  in  the 
United  States,  3  in  Canada,  16  in  South  America,  2  in  Singa¬ 
pore,  2  in  Zanzibar,  and  one  each  in  Sardinia,  in  Malta  and 
in  Petrograd.  Most  of  these  were  dailies.  If  journals  that 
appeared  less  frequently  are  included,  the  total  number  of 
Arabic  papers  in  the  collection  reaches  694. 

In  the  same  year.  Professor  E.  G.  Browne  told  the  Persia 
Society  ^  that  his  collection  of  newspapers  in  Persian  reached 
between  350  and  360  titles.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all 
the  papers  in  either  the  Arabic  or  the  Persian  collection  were 
in  existence  at  one  time;  many  of  them  were  ephemeral  rags, 
some  only  produced  by  a  gelatine  process  for  a  tiny  clientele. 


^The  Persian  Press  and  Persian  Journalism,  Prof.  E.  G.  Browne. 

[257] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


But  into  them  were  poured  the  aspirations  of  the  Orient  for 
better  life.  Mr.  H.  Rabino,  in  an  article  on  the  Persian  press 
written  in  the  same  year,^  gave  the  following  titles  which 
sufficiently  indicate  what  ideas  were  seething  in  the  brain  of 
young  Persia:  Brotherhood,  Independence,  Union,  Humanity, 
Culture,  Civilization,  Dawn,  Fraternity,  Reform,  Revivi¬ 
fication. 

That  was  in  the  year  before  the  war.  And  what  of  to* *day  ? 
The  process  still  goes  on.  The  East  reads  its  newspapers. 
Perhaps  not  the  same  newspapers  as  yesterday;  almost  cer¬ 
tainly  not  the  same  newspapers  as  in  1913,  for  the  war  up¬ 
heavals  have  strewn  the  Orient  still  more  thickly  with  tombs 
of  defunct  journals.  Some  lived  only  by  blackmail  and  died 
unregretted.  Some  fell  with  the  fall  of  the  party  they  repre¬ 
sented.  Some  were  suppressed  by  governments.  .  But  still 
the  East  reads  the  paper, — under  whatever  changing  name. 
The  chief  of  the  Kashgais,  lord  of  30,000  black  tents  on  the 
Persian  hills,  subscribes  to  the  London  Times  and  has  Reuter’s 
telegrams  translated  to  him  by  his  son’s  tutor.  Mr.  Reuben 
Levy  says  of  Persia  to-day:  ‘‘A  large  number  of  newspapers 
see  the  light,  often  for  only  a  few  issues,  after  which  they  die, 
hut  more  appear.”  The  Persian  magazine  Kaveh  ^  for  April, 
1921,  gave  a  list  of  46  current  newspapers,  all  published  since 
1918.  They  represent  all  parts  of  Persia,  but  especially  the 
North,  where  the  press  has  always  been  more  active  than  in 
the  South.  They  come  also  from  beyond  the  Persian  borders, 
as  from  Baku,  Herat,  Kabul  and  Jellalabad. 

The  Arabic  newspaper  press,  too,  has  never  lost  its  pre¬ 
war  activity.  Its  journals  show  a  very  varied  range  of  serious¬ 
ness  and  responsibility,  but  the  veriest  rag  takes  on  an 
importance  of  its  own,  when  we  remember  that  it  is  the  sole 
reading  of  much  of  its  clientele.  Certain  classes  are  all  but 
hypnotised  by  the  writers  of  the  leading  articles  in  their  news¬ 
papers.  The  city  of  Cairo  alone  publishes  seventy-seven 
newspapers,  and  “Cairo  newspapers,”  says  the  Arabian  re- 

^  Revue  du  Monde  Musulman,  March,  1913. 

*  Itself  an  exemplar  of  an  important  effort  at  literary  and  scientific  pub¬ 
lication  made  by  Persians  in  Berlin,  where  the  new  magazine  Iranschahr  is 
also  published  monthly. 

[258] 


SCHOOL  OF  THE  SALATIGA  FAITH  MISSION,  BLORA,  JAVA 


women’s  BIBLE  TRAINING  SCHOOL,  BUITENZORG,  JAVA 


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NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 


port,  “are  widely  read  in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  play  no  small 
part  in  the  formation  of  public  opinion  there.”  Indeed  ‘‘news¬ 
papers  from  Cairo  are  read  from  America  to  the  Philippine 
Islands.  Some  of  the  leading  Moslem  magazines  have  regular 
agents  in  South  America,  South  Africa  and  India.”  {Egyp¬ 
tian  Report.) 

In  varying  degrees,  but  without  a  single  exception,  all  the 
countries  falling  under  the  present  Survey  look  for  informa¬ 
tion,  and  even  for  ideals  to  the  newspaper  press.  The  Rev. 
A.  Pieters,  who  was  one  of  the  first  to  see  the  significance 
for  the  Christian  messenger  under  similar  conditions  in  Japan, 
wrote  as  follows  :  ^ 

“The  Apostle  Paul  at  Athens  disputed  in  the  market  daily, 
because  the  market  place  was  where  the  Athenians  congre¬ 
gated  to  do  their  buying  and  selling,  and  to  discuss  questions 
of  public  interest.  This  is  not  done  in  the  market  place  now¬ 
adays,  either  in  America,  or  in  Japan,  but  in  the  newspapers. 
Not  to  speak  of  public  discussion,  which  goes  without  saying, 
the  very  buying  and  selling  are  done  in  the  papers,  for  the  most 
difficult  and  essential  part  of  the  salesman’s  work,  that  of  in¬ 
ducing  the  customer  to  desire  his  wares,  is  done  in  the 
newspapers.” 

Each  year  makes  this  statement  more  applicable  to  Moslem 
lands.  “While  the  pulpit  and  platform  reach  their  hundreds 
and  thousands,  the  newspaper  simultaneously,  rapidly  and 
throughout  a  much  wider  area,  touches  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands.”  {Egyptian  Report.) 

An  important  memorandum  from  Dr.  C.  S.  G.  Mylrea  of 
Arabia  reached  the  General  Field  Committee  of  this  Survey, 
at  the  outset  of  its  work,  urging  it  to  canvass  the  possibilities 
of  the  newspaper  press,  for  spreading  Christian  truth  and  ex¬ 
plaining  the  Christian  standard  and  attitude  in  regard  to  moral 
and  social  questions. 

“We  have  only  begun,”  the  memorandum  said,  “to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  possibilities  of  advertising,  which  after  all  is  what 
we  are  trying  to  do.  The  great  war  has  taught  us  what  can 
be  done  in  the  way  of  moulding  public  opinion,  or  rather  of 
^In  his  book  Seven  Years  of  Newspaper  Evangelism  in  Japan. 

[259], 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


manufacturing  public  opinion.  With  a  just  cause  and  a  true 
message  such  as  we  have,  a  skilfully  conducted  propaganda 
campaign  ought  to  produce  great  results.  The  advantage  of 
the  scheme  would  be  as  follows : 

1.  A  large  circulation  is  immediately  secured  among  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men. 

2.  The  message  circulated  carries  with  it  no  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  suggestion  to  rouse  prejudice  before  the  reader  begins. 
It  obtains  an  unprejudiced  attention. 

3.  The  only  heavy  expense  is  the  charge  made  by  the 
newspaper  for  publication.  The  newspaper  prints  the  article, 
the  newspaper  distributes  the  article,  and  the  newspaper  car¬ 
ries  the  thousand  and  one  overhead  charges  incidental  to  all 
publication.” 

In  consequence  of  this  memorandum,  the  General  Field 
Committee  asked  for  an  expression  of  opinion  from  different 
parts  of  the  Moslem  world.  It  appeared  that  almost  nothing 
of  this  description  had  been  tried,  but  there  was  a  general 
desire  for  experiment: 

China.  There  is  a  certain  opening  for  newspaper 
evangelism  in  China,  and  this  has  been  taken  advantage  of,  at 
least  to  some  extent,  by  Dr.  MacGillivray  of  the  Christian 
Literature  Society  for  China,  who  has  succeeded  in  getting  a 
considerable  number  of  articles  accepted  for  publication  by 
the  Chinese  newspapers,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  these 
newspapers  cater  for  the  Chinese  public  generally,  and  not 
for  a  Moslem  clientde.  We  do  not  think  it  would  be  at  all 
possible  to  gain  admission  for  articles  of  a  propagandist  nature 
in  distinctly  Moslem  newspapers,  of  which  a  few  are  in 
circulation. 

India.  “It  is  not  an  entirely  new  thing  for  India.  The 
field  is  open  for  larger  experiment.  Here  is  a  great  oppor¬ 
tunity  which,  if  seized,  might  prove  even  more  successful  than 
in  China  or  Japan.” 

Turkey.  “Newspaper  evangelism  has  not  been  tried 
in  this  field.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  Committee  to  try  it  out. 
In  our  judgment  it  would  be  possible,  even  now,  to  publish 
through  the  Moslem  press,  articles  of  high  moral  tone,  advo- 

[260] 


NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 


eating  social  and  other  reform  along  moral  lines.  We  believe 
this  method  of  evangelisation  is  worth  trying,  even  if  payment 
has  to  be  made  for  the  insertion  of  the  articles.’^ 

Malaysia.  “The  great  opportunity  for  this  kind  of 
work  is  in  Java,  where  newspapers  in  the  Malay  language  are 
numerous,  and  have  a  very  considerable  circulation.  On  the 
Malay  Peninsula  and  in  Sumatra,  there  are  Malay  newspapers 
published  at  various  important  centres.  Many  of  the  Malay 
newspapers  are  managed  and  edited  by  Malay-speaking  Chi¬ 
nese,  who  are  not  Moslems.  We  are  not  aware  that  any 
attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  supply  these  Malay  papers  with 
material  having  a  Christian  tendency.” 

Syria.  “Syrian  correspondents  think  that  newspapers 
would  not  print  distinctly  Christian  material.  Foreign  corre¬ 
spondents  are  divided  as  to  the  practicability  of  this  plan.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  it  has  not  been  tried,  and  till  it  has  been  tried 
no  one  can  tell.  Probably,  wisely  prepared  material  would 
be  printed  if  paid  for  at  advertising  rates.  When  we  realise 
the  place  The  Christian  Science  Monitor  has  made  for  itself, 
one  wonders  whether  a  really  high  class,  distinctly  Christian 
paper  might  not  also  make  a  place  for  itself.  Material,  e.g., 
facts  and  figures  which  could  be  put  into  newspapers,  even  at 
paid  advertising  rates  (as  in  Japan),  should  be  made  generally 
available  from  some  central  source.” 

Mesopotamia.  The  British  editor  of  a  bi-lingual 
paper,  almost  a  governmental  organ,  in  Basra,  was  reluctant 
to  undertake  such  an  effort  at  the  present  juncture.  The 
Oriental  Christian  editor  of  the  leading  Arabic  daily  in 
Baghdad  may  be  a  possibility. 

North  Africa,  (i)  “With  regard  to  newspaper  evan¬ 
gelism,  nothing  has  ever  been  tried  in  connection  with  the 
native  Arabic  press,  this  being  decidedly  Moslem  and  opposed. 
Anything  tried  in  this  way  would  have  to  be  indirect.  It 
would  be  possible,  however,  to  use  the  French  press,  which  is 
read  by  a  good  number  of  Mohammedans.  This  has  been  tried 
in  European  evangelistic  work  in  Algiers,  and  it  was  found 
that  Moslems  as  well  as  Europeans  were  reached  and  asked 
for  literature.” 

[261] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


(2)  “Would  it  not  be  possible  to  try  a  combination  of 
visual  and  written  literature,  after  the  manner  of  the  owners 
of  the  cinemas  and  the  proprietors  of  the  newspapers?  What 
is  shown  in  the  cinemas  (in  Algeria)  is  published  in  pamphlet 
form.  Can  we  not  do  something  of  the  same  kind?  If  we 
could  have  pictures  thrown  on  the  screen,  and  popular  literature 
corresponding  to  the  pictures,  we  could  do  an  immense 
amount  of  what  the  French  call  vulgarisation,  making  known 
the  facts  and  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  exercising  an  in¬ 
fluence  by  means  of  healthy,  uplifting  literature  and  pictures. 
In  all  our  cities  of  North  Africa  there  is  a  taste  for  pictures, 
due  to  the  cinema.  A  new  world  is  thrown  open  to  the  veriest 
street- Arab.” 

Egypt.  “The  possibilities  of  this  method  were  proved 
before  the  war,  and  were  to  a  degree  encouraging.  More  re¬ 
cently  a  further  experiment  was  made  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Sher¬ 
wood  Eddy’s  visit.  The  Arabic  press  was  quite  willing  to 
insert  his  Christian  messages  as  news.  In  such  a  tourist  centre 
as  Egypt,  where  Christian  visitors  from  Great  Britain  and 
America  often  have  a  special  message,  this  method  of 
evangelism  should  be  employed  to  the  utmost.” 

Besides  this  general  desire  for  experiment  in  the  use  of 
the  existing  daily  press,  the  survey  shows  a  considerable  sense 
of  weakness  in  regard  to  Christian  periodical  literature. 
Magazine  literature  in  the  Moslem  world  is  used  as  a  valu¬ 
able  tool  by  those  who  wish  to  attack  Christianity.  Al  Manar 
in  Egypt  has  already  been  mentioned,  as  have  also  The  Com- 
rade  of  Delhi,  The  Islamic  Review  of  London,  The  Mussul¬ 
man  of  Calcutta,  The  Review  of  Religions  of  Qadian,  Al  Islam 
and  Muhammadi  of  Bengal.  All  of  these  represent  a  quite 
definitely  anti-Christian  policy,  a  deliberate  attack.  The  sup¬ 
port  of  faithful  Moslems  is  solicited  for  The  Islamic  Review 
and  The  Review  of  Religions  and  both  have  a  considerable 
gratis  circulation  and  are  sent  to  public  libraries  in  various 
countries,  as  well  as  to  individuals.  There  is  nothing  sur¬ 
prising  in  this.  Every  modern  movement  educates  its  own 
followers  and  outside  opinion  by  means  of  periodical  literature. 

[262] 


NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 


The  only  question  is  how  far  the  Christian  forces  have  mas¬ 
tered  this  obvious  method  of  preaching  the  gospel. 

The  reports  of  the  Survey  of  Christian  Literature  recently 
made  for  all  India  show  a  marked  weakness  here.  Some  lan¬ 
guage  areas  are  in  great  need  of  a  Christian  periodical  litera¬ 
ture.  Others,  where  work  has  been  carried  on  for  some  time, 
have  too  much  of  it,  not  in  number  of  copies  but  in  number 
of  titles.  The  tendency  has  been  for  each  strong  mission  to 
produce  a  paper  for  its  adherents.  There  may  be  in  one  area 
three  Christian  Church  papers  along  almost  the  same  lines,  but 
with  a  denominational  tinge.  More  united  counsels  from  the 
first  might,  with  the  same  expenditure  of  energy,  have  resulted 
in  one  Christian  Church  paper  with  sections  for  the  news  of 
different  Church  communities,  one  children’s  magazine,  and 
one  magazine  of  apologetics  for  non-Christians. 

India  is  slowly  righting  this  state  of  affairs  and  setting 
free  energy  which  may  produce  a  Christian  periodical  litera¬ 
ture  more  specialised  to  the  constituencies  to  be  reached.  A 
Boys’  Own  Paper  is  being  produced  in  Bengali  and  magazines 
for  women  are  making  their  appearance.  With  all  her  Chris¬ 
tian  periodicals,  India  has  yet  not  one  of  Christian  apologetics 
for  educated  Moslems  corresponding  to  the  Moslem  apolo¬ 
getic  papers  mentioned  above.  The  Rev.  J.  Takle  writes,  “It 
has  been  widely  felt  that  the  time  is  opportune  for  a  paper 
after  the  style  of  The  Epiphany — but  specially  for  Moslems. 

Other  needs  in  regard  to  periodicals  for  Moslems  in  India 
have  already  been  mentioned,  as  for  example,  a  simple  Pushtu 
newspaper  for  the  Peshawar  district;  an  Urdu  magazine  for 
women  on  the  lines  of  the  former  paper  called  The  Garden 
of  the  Heart;  special  attention  to  Moslem  problems  and  diffi¬ 
culties  in  Nur  Afshan;  an  Urdu-English  edition  of  Orient 
and  Occident  of  Cairo;  and  an  Urdu  and  a  Tamil  edition  of 
the  children’s  magazine  The  Treasure  Chest. 

A  children’s  magazine  is  also  desired  in  Osmanli  Turkish, 
while  Persia  says:  “Though  newspaper  evangelism  as  used 
in  Japan  is  not  practicable,  we  need  a  newspaper  of  Christian 
ideals  and  character,  while  non-controversial.” 

Arabic  lands  have  similar  needs  to  confess : 

[263] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


“The  Christian  forces  of  the  Near  East  should  have  a 
monthly  magazine  of  an  apologetic  character,  similar  to 
Al  Manar,  with  departments  of  homiletics,  apologetics  and 
historical  Christianity.  Especially  we  need  a  magazine  that 
will  answer  the  honest  inquirer,  such  as  The  Epiphany,  pub¬ 
lished  weekly  by  the  Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta,  to  meet 
the  present  day  spirit  of  inquiry  in  the  Near  East.  In  order 
to  put  in  force  such  work  and  ensure  its  economic  adminis¬ 
tration,  we  need  a  central  agency  at  Cairo  to  serve  all  Moslem 
fields.’^ 

“A  dream  of  the  future  would  be  a  boys*  magazine  with 
pictures,  hero  tales,  scout-law,  temperance,  purity,  physical 
culture  and  scores  of  other  topics;  through  everything  running 
the  inspiring  fire  of  those  whose  hearts  have  been  won  by  the 
personal  Christ.  Could  not  different  lands  and  missions  com¬ 
bine  in  one  for  Islam?” 

“The  need  for  a  Christian  magazine  for  girls  has  for 
years  been  keenly  felt,  to  carry  on  into  home  life  some  of  the 
influences  brought  to  bear  on  the  life  of  a  Moslem  girl  in  a 
mission  school.  As  early  as  1915,  plans  were  almost  com¬ 
pleted  for  such  a  magazine  and  the  Cairo  Y.W.C.A.  col¬ 
lected  a  small  fund  towards  its  initial  expenses.  The  sum  of 
L.E.  300  per  year  would  have  to  be  guaranteed,  however,  if 
such  a  paper  were  to  hold  its  own  amongst  non-Christian 
rivals.  It  is  most  desirable  that  some  plan  may  at  length  be 
found  for  meeting  this  great  need.’* 

Such  pleas  as  those  just  quoted  are  constantly  made.  They 
have  been  brought  forward  at  all  manner  of  committees  and 
conferences.  Hitherto  they  have  always  been  shelved  from  a 
sense  of  impotence.  No  society  is  strong  enough  to  bear  these 
burdens  alone.  The  cost  in  time  and  energy,  of  circulation 
alone  would  be  prohibitive. 

Such  being  the  needs,  the  suggestions  for  meeting  them 
crystallise  in  the  proposal  for  a  central  Christian  Press  Bureau 
for  the  Moslem  world,  possibly  at  Cairo;  or  for  several  such 
bureaus  should  they  be  needed  in  different  centres. 

Such  a  Press  Bureau  would  have  two  distinct  relationships : 
[264] 


NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 


(i)  with  the  Christian  periodical  press;  (2)  with  the  secular 
periodical  press,  and  especially  the  daily  newspaper  press. 

1.  With  regard  to  the  Christian  periodical  press,  such 
a  bureau  might  be  the  office  of  a  Christian  newspaper  trust. 

Magazines  for  diiferent  classes  of  the  community  might  be 
jointly  produced  from  it.  Existing  magazines  might  be 
greatly  strengthened,  and  the  work  of  local  editors  lightened, 
by  the  preparation  of  material  that  could  be  used  in  transla¬ 
tion  in  various  Moslem  countries,  in  magazines  for  men, 
women,  boys,  children.  Illustrations  could  also  be  obtained 
or  produced  by  a  central  bureau  at  a  greatly  lightened  cost  to 
each  individual  editor. 

Editors  of  talent  cannot  be  numerous  in  the  small  mis¬ 
sionary  body:  if,  then,  one  society  can  produce  the  worker 
gifted  enough  to  edit  a  serious  apologetic  magazine  or  a 
“thrilling”  paper  for  boys,  why  should  not  the  whole  language 
area  share  the  gifts  and  help  in  the  work  of  circulation?  The 
Egyptian  report  says : 

” Co-operation  on  a  larger  scale  would  make  possible  a 
Christian  newspaper  trust.  This  would  facilitate  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  the  existing  Christian  periodicals  and  increase 
their  circulation,  as  well  as  prevent  overlapping  or  needless 
duplication  in  contents,  programme  and  clientele.” 

Under  such  a  scheme  the  resources  for  circulation  could 
be  pooled,  one  agent  collecting  subscriptions  in  a  given  area 
for  half  a  dozen  papers.  Resources  of  advertising,  too,  could 
be  pooled,  and  two  or  three  people.  Eastern  and  Western 
specialists  in  their  work  including  in  their  numbers  an  artist, 
could  edit,  under  a  joint  board,  material  needed  by  the  whole 
Arabic  world.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Christian 
magazine  literature  of  the  Near  East  is  now  produced  ex¬ 
travagantly,  for  though  an  almost  excruciating  economy  may 
be  practised  in  each  individual  case,  the  total  amount  of  office 
work  and  administration  carried  on  separately  in  several 
centres  by  otherwise  much-engaged  people  is  costly  in  relation 
to  the  number  of  pages  circulated. 

2.  With  regard  to  the  secular  or  the  Moslem  press,  and 
especially  the  newspaper  press,  a  press  bureau  might  pool  Chris- 

[265] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tian  journalistic  talent,  and  provide  matter  and  watch  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  newspaper  evangelism.  It  is  suggested  that  the 
“clip-sheet”  method  could  be  used  to  advantage,  as  is 
done  in  connection  with  the  temperance  movement  in  Amer¬ 
ica  and  elsewhere.  This  involves  the  writing  of  striking,  short 
paragraphs  that  newspapers  are  glad  to  have  as  news,  or  even 
as  editorials.  A  selection  of  such  paragraphs  is  printed  and 
copies  are  sent  regularly  to  editors. 

Certain  types  of  obvious  Christian  argument  to  meet  Mos¬ 
lem  attacks  can  only  be  printed  in  the  Moslem  press,  if  at 
all,  as  paid  advertising  matter.  But  many  forms  of  vital 
Christian  teaching  may  find  their  way  into  news  columns. 

A  Central  Press  Bureau  (linked  with  the  Far  and  Near 
Press  Bureau,  London,  for  purposes  of  international  moral 
propaganda,  such  as  that  against  the  drug  habit)  might  serve 
all  Moslem  lands  with  articles  for  local  publication,  by  writers 
who  understand  Moslem  thought  and  difficulties.  In  every 
year,  for  instance,  occur  centenaries  (or  bi-tri-etc.-centenaries) 
of  great  lives  that  exemplify  something  of  Christ’s  power  and 
teaching.  Each  year,  too,  the  Times  Literary  Supplement 
makes  great  play  with  leading  articles  at  the  time  of  the 
centenary  of  the  publication  of  famous  books.  By  taking 
thought,  a  Christian  press  bureau  might  have  articles  ready 
for  consumption  in  any  part  of  the  Moslem  world,  drawing 
vital  lessons  from  such  lives  and  books.  Articles  of  permanent 
value  could  afterwards  be  adapted  for  book  form. 

In  Japan,  in  connection  with  the  New  Life  Hall, 
Hiroshima,  such  Christian  journalism  has  been  brought  into 
closest  touch  with  the  personal  work  of  the  evangelist  for 
educated  men  and  women.  Articles  in  the  daily  press  give  a 
post  office  box  number  for  enquiry  and  a  regular  work  goes 
on,  enquirers  writing  about  personal  difficulties  and  follow¬ 
ing  recommended  courses  of  study,  and  reading  “Every  article 
inserted  in  the  newspaper  ends  with  an  invitation  to  those 
who  are  anxious  to  study  more  to  apply  for  a  grant  of  free 
literature.  This  produces  enquirers.  Applicants  are  care¬ 
fully  registered  and  are  invited  to  join  the  New  Life  Society, 
which  entitles  them,  among  other  privileges,  to  the  use  of  the 
[266] 


NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 


library  and  to  a  monthly  Christian  paper  for  six  months.  A 
correspondence  course  is  carried  on  for  enquirers  out  of  reach 
of  suitable  personal  workers. 

A  missionary  in  the  northern  part  of  the  main  island 
reports  that  as  a  result  of  weekly  advertisements,  applications 
have  been  received  from  half  the  townships  of  his  province. 
In  Hiroshima,  where,  out  of  433  townships  only  fifteen  are 
being  reached  by  Christian  work,  applications  have  come  in 
from  over  150  more.  The  enquirers  have  been  of  every  kind 
and  description,  from  naval  staff  officers  and  men  of  the  con¬ 
sular  service  to  prisoners,  labourers  and  illiterates.  An 
encouraging  feature  has  been  the  number  of  day  school 
teachers  who  have  applied.”  {Rev.  G.  Murray  Walton.) 

Such  work  is  of  course  carried  on  in  closest  co-operation 
with  the  other  evangelistic  forces  in  the  country,  and  thus 
gives  strength  and  impetus  to  all  the  mission  work. 

For  the  beginning  of  such  a  Press  Bureau  as  has  been 
outlined  above,  the  necessary  personnel  would  be  an  editor 
(supplied  with  reference  books  and  good  clerical  help)  whose 
business  would  be  the  discovery  and  in  part  the  inspiration 
and  training  of  Christian  journalists  in  the  Moslem  world. 
He  would  need  funds  at  his  disposal  for  the  payment  of  at 
least  a  part  of  the  writing  and  artistic  work.  If  the  work 
developed,  an  art  editor,  or  editors  in  charge  of  various  Chris¬ 
tian  periodicals  might  be  added.  But  one  central  editor  with 
correspondents  in  the  various  local  literature  committees  might 
make  very  important  forward  moves.  The  scheme  demands 
money  for  an  office,  some  books,  two  or  three  salaries,  and 
postage.  The  Far  and  Near  Press  Bureau  cost,  in  the  year 
1921,  £650  and  supplied  missionary  news  to  numerous  papers 
and  magazines,  besides  making  such  personal  contacts  with 
editors  and  journalists  as  secure  respectful  treatment  of  mis¬ 
sionary  problems.  Was  this  too  much  to  pay  for  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  a  note  of  Christian  idealism  and  service  into  an 
often  opportunist  and  materialistic  daily  press?  Would  the 
expenditure  of  a  like  sum  on  the  preparation  and  introduction 
of  Christian  material  into  the  far  more  needy  press  of  the 
Moslem  world  be  extravagant,  especially  when  account  is 

[267] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 

taken  of  the  extent  to  which  a  central  staff  could  relieve 
local  workers  wrestling  severally  and  independently  with  the 
same  task  in  different  countries? 

Can  such  expenditure  be  deemed  extravagant  when  regard 
is  had  to  the  immense  power  of  the  daily  press  for  placarding 
any  set  of  ideas  before  the  public  gaze?  Can  the  newspaper 
any  longer  be  ignored  by  those  whose  object  it  is  to  placard 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified,  before  the  eyes  of  the  Mos¬ 
lem  world? 


[268] 


Chapter  XV 


THE  NEXT  STEPS 

No  agency  can  penetrate  Islam  so  deeply,  abide 
so  persistently,  witness  so  daringly,  and  influence 
so  irresistibly,  as  the  printed  page. — Dr.  Charles 
R.  Watson,  President  American  University,  Cairo. 

I.  The  Unity  of  the  Moslem  W  or  Id 

When  the  last  report  of  the  Survey  has  been  read,  what 
is  the  culminating  effect  upon  the  reader’s  mind?  He  has 
travelled  through  a  maze  of  details,  glancing  now  at  the  new 
nationalist  poetry  of  Persia;  now  at  the  puthi  of  the  Bengali 
villager;  now  at  the  westernised  apologetic  of  the  Ahmadiya 
missionary,  now  at  the  rhymed  tale  that  beguiles  the  Swahili 
trader’s  wayside  rest;  now  at  the  plays  and  novels  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  frank  imitations  of  the  French;  now  at  the 
“unwritten  literature’’  of  the  Berber  or  Afghan  folk-poetry; 
and  now  at  the  wide-flung  output  of  the  Moslem  press  of 
Cairo. 

What  at  the  end  is  the  cumulative  effect  of  all  these 
details?  Do  they  remain  contiguous  but  isolated,  held  to¬ 
gether  in  one  book  as  grains  of  sand  may  be  held  in  a  cup? 
Or  do  there  emerge  common  elements  of  life  and  spirit,  of 
attitude  and  ideal,  uniting  this  multitudinous  output  of  Moslem 
minds  rather  as  cells  are  united  in  a  living  organism  than  as 
grains  are  united  in  a  dead  sandheap  ? 

Most  strongly  we  affirm  that  the  study  of  a  dozen  reports, 
each  crammed  with  local  details  from  separate  areas,  has  only 
heightened  the  sense  that,  in  a  very  real  way,  the  Moslem 
world,  far-scattered  physically,  is  at  heart  a  unity. 

Wherein  then  lies  the  unifying  secret?  This  unity  of  the 

[269] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Moslem  world  is  not  linguistic,  although  one  of  its  binding 
forces  is  the  sacred  language  of  its  sacred  book.  Nor  is  it 
chiefly  a  political  unity,  although,  from  the  first,  Islam  had  a 
political  as  well  as  a  religious  programme.  Nor  yet  is  it 
primarily  a  social  unity,  although  Islam  has  always  had  a 
meaning  for  social  life.  Nor  is  the  unity  in  its  essence  in¬ 
tellectual;  for,  while  the  Moslem  nations  have  the  right  to  a 
common  intellectual  heritage,  they  are  yet  played  upon  by 
endless  variety  of  thought  and  education.  Fundamentally  the 
unity  is  not  of  ritual,  though  the  common  rites,  ablutions, 
postures,  pilgrimages,  make  one  of  its  most  central  and  im¬ 
pressive  bonds,  and  the  establishment  of  the  call  to  prayer  was 
at  once  a  stroke  of  poetic  genius  and  of  unifying  policy. 

Every  one  of  these  aspects  of  unity  is  of  importance,  and 
added  together  they  made  a  potent  binding  force.  But  neither 
severally  nor  all  together  do  they  reveal  the  real  significance 
of  the  unity  of  Islam.  They  are  rather,  various  modes  of 
expression  of  a  unity  whose  secret  lies  in  the  spiritual  realm. 

The  bottom  fact  of  the  unity  of  Islam  is  a  common  spiritual 
attitude  drawn  from  the  spiritual  content  of  the  Koran  and 
of  the  personal  character  of  Mohammed.  It  is  not  without 
reason  that  twin  placards  hang  in  St.  Sophia  over  the  spot 
where  once  the  altar  stood,  bearing  in  letters  of  equal  size 
the  names  “Allah,”  “Mohammed.”  The  character  of  Allah, 
as  conceived  by  Mohammed  and  revealed  in  the  Koran,  the 
character  of  his  prophet  as  revealed  in  daily  life,  these  colour 
the  thought  of  Islam,  its  political  aspirations,  its  social  life, 
its  spiritual  vision  and  appeal.  These  are  the  inward  spiritual 
stuff  behind  the  outward  manifestation  of  its  unity. 


11.  Christian  Unity  in  the  Moslem  World 

This  unity  of  the  Moslem  world,  it  has  been  said,  demands 
of  Christians  a  counter  unity,  founded  not  on  the  character 
of  the  Moslem’s  Allah  but  of  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  Christ  in  whom,  and  not  in  Mohammed,  all 
things  are  summed  up.  The  phrase  “a  counter  unity”  is  only 
[270] 


THE  NEXT  STEPS 


half  true,  for  Christian  unity  is  not  built  on  opposition  to 
Islam  or  on  any  other  negative,  but  on  the  sharing  of  the  mind 
of  Christ.  It  was,  before  Islam  came  into  being.  It  will  be, 
when  Islam  is  no  more. 

Yet  in  a  lesser  sense  the  man  who  demands  a  counter  unity 
is  right.  If  the  spiritual  unity  of  Islam  is  manifested  in 
political,  social  or  intellectual  life,  unity  in  Christ  must  also 
find  expression  through  these  things.  Must  not  the  political 
aspirations  and  hauteur  of  Islam  be  countered  by  renunciation 
of  national  jealousies  and  pride,  by  a  new  affirmation  of 
Christian  brotherhood?  Does  not  the  social  aspect  of  Islam 
call  for  a  united  resolve  at  last  to  bring  the  spirit  of  Christ 
to  bear  on  the  social  order  ?  And  again,  do  not  the  intellectual 
manifestations  of  the  spirit  of  Islam  in  its  literature  of  to-day 
call  for  a  united  effort  to  speak  the  mind  of  Christ  through 
literature  ? 

The  reports  of  the  Survey  on  Christian  Literature  un¬ 
wittingly  manifest  the  spiritual  unity  of  the  men  who  drew 
them  up.  The  purpose,  the  message,  in  many  cases  the  actual 
argument  or  appeal  or  style  of  the  books  they  plan  to  produce 
is  the  same.  Even  when  the  plans  are  most  varied,  the  same 
spirit  breathes  through  them. 

But  the  writers  of  the  reports  manifest  also  a  keen  dis¬ 
content  that  there  is  no  agency,  no  channel  through  which  this 
unity  may  find  expression  and  function  in  a  sharing  of  our 
common  literary  task  and  a  bearing  of  one  another’s  burdens 
in  that  work.  They  point  out  that,  as  things  are  at  present, 
the  essential  unity  of  Christian  teaching  and  conviction  in  the 
presence  of  Islam  is  hidden,  however  ardent  the  spirit  of 
goodwill  to  the  brethren,  for  no  channels  are  provided  for 
intercommunication,  for  a  general  sharing  of  literary  gifts 
or  products  between  one  field  and  the  rest. 

The  Moslem  World,  Quarterly,  now  in  its  fourteenth  year, 
has  been  almost  the  only  link  for  promoting  mutual  knowledge. 
It  has  indeed  done  much  to  give  information  and  direction  to 
workers  among  Moslems  and  has  probably  been  one  of  the 
prime  causes  of  the  present  desire  that  we  shall  strengthen 
one  another’s  hands  and  face  our  task  unitedly.  That  desire 

[271] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


is  one  of  the  outstanding  features  of  the  present  reports. 
Each  writer,  after  describing  the  literary  work  that  he  sees 
before  the  Church  in  his  own  area,  appeals  urgently  for  closer 
co-operation  with  his  comrades  in  other  fields.  There  is  not 
one  field  report  of  the  twelve  that  does  not  point  out  the 
necessity  for  some  central  organisation  to  link  the  literary 
workers  in  that  field  with  others,  and  to  unify  the  Church’s 
witness  to  her  Lord  through  literature  in  the  Moslem  world. 

Some  central  link  they  call  for,  as  the  only  hope  of 
efficiency  and  economy  in  carrying  out  a  task  that  concerns 
the  whole  Moslem  world.  Here  is  a  demand  from  her  work¬ 
ers  in  all  Moslem  fields,  to  which  the  Church  cannot  close 
her  ears. 

They  ask  for  a  central  organisation  to  promote  co¬ 
operation  and  to  see  that  all  have  a  chance  of  sharing  in  the 
creative  power  found  in  any  part  of  the  field.  This  is  the 
primary  practical  need  pointed  out  by  the  Survey.  We  must 
either  meet  it  or  confess  that  united  schemes  of  literature 
production  are  too  hard  for  missionaries  of  Christ  and  must 
be  left  to  the  missionaries  of  Islam. 

That  is  unthinkable. 

III.  Central  Literature  Bureau 

We  recommend,  therefore,  as  an  immediate  step,  the 
opening  of  a  central  office,  for  many  and  adequate  reasons 
preferably  at  Cairo,  and  the  appointment  of  a  small  central 
staff  who  shall  be  liaison  officers  to  promote  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  production  and  circulation  throughout  the  Moslem  world. 

The  tasks  to  be  undertaken  in  such  a  central  literature 
office  would  be : 

(a)  To  assist,  wherever  such  assistance  was  desired,  in 
plans  for  co-ordination  and  co-operation  between  existing 
producers  of  literature.  The  reports  all  call  for  a  clearing¬ 
house  for  the  exchange  of  new  publications  between  literature 
workers  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  and  for  a  consultative 
bureau  where  such  literature  can  be  catalogued  and  referred  to. 

[272] 


THE  NEXT  STEPS 


It  is  believed  that  this  process  of  co-ordination  alone,  quite 
apart  from  any  question  as  to  the  production  of  additional 
literature,  would  contribute  so  greatly  to  the  enrichment  of 
present  literary  resources  as  to  mark  a  noteworthy  advance  for 
Christian  missions  to  Moslems. 

(b)  To  promote  production  in  each  field  and  the  sharing 
by  as  many  as  possible  of  the  productive  energy  found  in  any 
one  field. 

The  Survey  has  revealed  common  needs  in  all  fields  pro¬ 
ducing  Christian  literature  for  Moslems. 

There  is  still  the  old  need  for  the  whole  literature  of  the 
Moslem  controversy.  In  some  cases,  while  the  arguments 
do  not  need  revision,  the  manner  of  presentation  can  be  made 
more  gracious  and  affectionate.  Every  field  asks  also  for 
Bible  commentaries  and  “Lives,”  not  primarily  controversial, 
but  meeting  the  objections  of  Moslem  readers  with  explana¬ 
tions  of  those  phrases  and  incidents  that  present  most  difficulty 
to  them. 

There  is  a  new  call  that  literature  shall  now  be  illustrated, 
and  yet  the  cost  of  satisfactory  artistic  work  is  too  heavy  for 
single  societies.  The  question  of  united  production  in  this 
matter  must  be  taken  up  seriously,  if  the  demand  is  to  be  met. 

In  addition,  the  following  classes  of  readers  call  for  the 
preparation  of  specialised  literature:  women,  children,  young 
men  receiving  western  education,  modern  Moslem  sects, 
mystics,  the  barely-literate,  the  Moslem-animist,  the  newspaper 
reader. 

The  task  of  the  central  literature  workers,  then,  in  respect 
of  production  would  be  to  seek  out  the  writers  or  artists  in 
any  field,  who  could  meet  the  needs  of  these  and  other  classes ; 
to  promote  arrangements  whereby  such  a  writer  in  one  land 
can  serve  other  fields;  to  foster  Christian  journalism  in 
Moslem  lands;  to  promote  newspaper  evangelism;  to  admin¬ 
ister  a  small  central  fund  for  the  securing  of  the  time  of 
writers  and  artists  whose  services  are  wanted  by  all  fields;  to 
avoid  overlapping  of  translational  or  other  work  and  to  give 
advice  on  any  manuscript  or  publication  schemes  on  which 
their  opinion  may  be  desired. 


[273] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


(c)  To  promote  plans  for  the  better  circulation  of  litera¬ 
ture  produced,  whether  in  one  field  or  between  the  various 
fields.  The  Survey  has  revealed  more  weakness  in  the  matter 
of  circulation  than  of  production.  In  no  area  does  the  whole 
Church  or  even  the  whole  foreign  missionary  body  know  and 
circulate  all  the  literature  available.  Schemes  for  publicity; 
all  kinds  of  advertising;  plans  for  colportage  and  for  vol¬ 
untary  help  in  circulation  all  need  most  careful  development 
in  each  field.  There  is  also  need  for  a  liaison  officer  to  promote 
inter-field  circulation,  both  of  periodicals  and  of  apologetic 
literature.  Workers  among  isolated  communities  of  Moslems 
in  foreign  parts  need  to  be  put  into  touch  with  the  sources  for 
suitable  literature.  Thus  workers  in  British  Guiana  and 
Trinidad  need  Urdu  literature  for  the  Moslem  settlers  who 
were  once  plantation  laborers.  Australia  has  a  few  Afghans 
who  came  into  the  West  as  camel  drivers,  and  a  few  Malays 
on  the  North  who  came  as  pearl  divers.  South  Africa  has  her 
Malays.  The  Moslems  of  Madagascar  are  reinforced  by 
arrivals  from  Hodeida  who  need  Arabic  literature,  or  by 
Indian  traders  from  Bombay  or  Madras  who  need  Gujerati 
or  Tamil.  And  so  mention  might  be  made  of  very  many  little 
communities  too  small  to  justify  separate  publications,  yet  de¬ 
manding  close  touch  between  workers  in  distant  lands.  Just 
here  a  liaison  officer  serving  the  whole  field  could  give  in¬ 
valuable  help  to  the  existing  literature  societies. 


IV.  The  Staff  Needed 

To  make  such  a  literature  bureau  of  practical  service,  it 
should  be  staffed  with : 

(1)  Literary  Secretary:  to  study  the  problems  of  pro¬ 
duction  of  literature  for  all  fields  and  to  promote  or  advise  on 
authorship  adaptation,  translating  and  general  production. 

(2)  Woman  Literary  Secretary:  to  work  as  above  but 
for  women  and  children. 

(3)  Business  Manager:  to  study  problems  of  distribu¬ 
tion  for  all  fields,  to  promote  or  advise  on  circulation,  the 

[274] 


THE  NEXT  STEPS 


development  of  markets  and  general  distribution.  He  would 
also  handle  the  funds  and  general  office  administration  for 
the  central  bureau. 

(4)  Travelling  Secretary:  to  visit  the  various  fields  and 
especially  the  chief  centres  of  production  and  distribution,  to 
keep  them  in  touch  with  each  other  and  with  the  central 
bureau,  and  to  arouse  missionaries  to  the  importance  of  this 
method. 

V.  Relationships  of  Central  Bureau 

Since  the  central  bureau  is  to  serve  missionaries  and 
societies  whose  home  base  is  in  the  United  States  and  Can¬ 
ada,  in  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden, 
Switzerland,  India,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  South  Africa, 
and  other  countries,  it  will  need  the  widest  international  re¬ 
lationships  to  ensure  that  it  is  equally  the  servant  of  all.  We 
therefore  record  our  thankfulness  to  God  that  He  has  raised 
up  at  this  very  time  an  international  missionary  body  of  wide 
enough  reference  to  unite  the  interests  of  us  all,  and  we 
recommend  that  the  scheme  for  the  Central  Literature  Bureau 
be  referred  to  the  International  Missionary  Council,  but  with 
the  closest  relationship  with  the  national  bodies  that  come  at 
close  grips  with  the  actual  conditions  on  the  field  through  their 
vital  connection  with  the  mission  boards. 

LOCAL  ORGANIZATION 

The  Survey  shows  consciousness  in  each  field  of  the  need 
of  some  simple  organisation  linking  together  the  literary 
workers  in  each  country.  Even  granted  sufficient  funds  for 
literature,  not  every  mission  can  provide  a  skilled  editor  and 
business  manager  for  publications,  nor  sufficient  authorship 
and  artistic  power  to  make  the  great  and  varied  literature 
now  called  for, — carrying  the  one  message  in  books  of  such 
various  scope,  appeal  and  style.  The  small  Christian  bodies 
in  any  field,  and  even  the  larger  ones,  can  only  accomplish 

[27S]i 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


such  a  work  by  combination,  and  by  the  sharing  of  every  gift 
of  literary  power.  A  book  or  picture  is  no  less  the  property 
of  one  missionary  society  because  it  is  shared  by  the  rest,  and 
only  when  all  share  the  output  can  the  task  of  production  be 
done  well  and  cheaply.  Some  fields  have  made  more  progress 
than  others  toward  this  linking  of  local  forces.  In  most  cases 
the  link  will  take  the  form  of  a  literature  committee  connected 
with  an  existing  inter-mission  council,  but  each  field  must 
work  out  its  own  plans  for  mutual  help,  and  there  will  of 
course  be  variations  according  to  local  needs  and  wishes. 


VI.  Linguistic  Watersheds 

While  a  central  bureau  for  the  whole  Moslem  world  and 
a  local  inter-mission  committee  within  each  clearly  defined 
mission  field  were  recognised  as  indispensable  necessities  if 
provision  was  to  be  made  for  realising  the  objectives  set  forth 
in  this  report,  it  was  also  felt  that  certain  more  important 
linguistic  watersheds  would  require  centres  of  their  own.  In 
the  services  they  would  render,  these  regional  centres  would 
stand  midway  between  the  Central  Bureau  for  the  whole 
Moslem  world  and  the  purely  local  activities  of  the  separate 
field  committees.  They  would  relieve  the  Central  Bureau  of 
details  which  it  could  not  hope  to  carry  in  respect  of  linguistic 
and  administrative  problems  existing  in  individual  fields. 
They  could  likewise  serve  the  local  committees  with  an  in¬ 
timacy  which  the  Central  Bureau  could  not  command.  The 
proposal  involves  placing  a  whole  time  regional  secretary  and 
maintaining  a  regional  office  for  the  promotion  of  Christian 
Literature  for  Moslems  at  the  following  places : 

(1)  Constantinople,  as  centre  for  work  for  Turkish, 
Balkan  and  Russian  Moslems. 

(2)  Cairo,  as  centre  for  Arabic  lands;  this  could  be  a 
branch  of  the  Central  Bureau. 

(3)  Teheran,  as  centre  for  Persian  and  central  Asian 
Moslems. 

(4)  Lucknow,  as  centre  for  Indian  Moslems. 

[276] 


THE  NEXT  STEPS 


(5)  Singapore,  as  centre  for  Moslems  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula  and  the  island  world. 

(6)  Shanghai,  as  centre  for  Moslems  in  the  Far  East 
and  the  Philippines. 

In  addition  there  would  be  someone  charged  with  the 
interests  of  work  for  Moslems  on  the  Central  Literature 
Committee  recently  formed  for  Africa :  ^ 

Some  such  machinery,  it  is  believed,  would  be  a  reasonable 
provision  for  the  work  that  is  to  be  done. 


VII.  The  Task  Essentially  Spiritual 

But  let  no  one  think  that  given  this  machinery  the  task  is 
done.  The  survey  gives  a  picture  of  Moslem  lands  in  mental 
bewilderment,  tied  and  bound  by  prejudice,  spiritually  desti¬ 
tute.  Nothing  but  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  can  meet 
their  need.  Literature  perishes  for  lack  of  vision.  The 
Moslem  world  waits  for  apostolic  men  and  women  to  write 
and  edit  with  primitive  love  and  fire.  Leadership  in  such 
work  calls  for  spiritual  qualifications  and  it  will  require  the 
highest  spiritual  quality  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  missionary 

*At  the  Cairo  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Survey  the  following 
Budget  was  suggested  : 

Estimated  Annual  Cost  of  Organisation, 

Central  Bureau  Expenses. 

Personnel :  salaries,  house  allowances,  etc. 

Literary  Secretary, 

Woman  Literary  Secretary, 

Business  Manager, 


Travelling  Secretary  .  $10,000 

Office:  Rent  and  clerical  assistance  .  5>ooo 

Travel:  . 

Fund  for  Production  .  10,000 

Fund  for  Circulation  . 10,000 

Fund  for  Newspaper  Evangelism  . . . .  5>ooo 

Fund  for  subsidizing  and  strengthening  the  regional  and 
local  organizations  and  their  activities .  15*000 


$70,000 

Of  the  foregoing  expenditures,  it  is  estimated  that  a  small  proportion 
might  come  back  in  profits  from  sale  of  literature  which  had  received 
conditional  grants. 

[277] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


forces  in  any  forward  movement  such  as  is  proposed.  It  is 
true  to-day  as  ever,  that  we  must  have  spiritual  men  for 
spiritual  work.  And  none 'can  set  them  apart  and  call  them 
out  from  amongst  other  insistent  claims  but  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.  On  God  is  our  dependence.  While  we  do  not  have  the 
right  to  pray  Him  for  apostles  of  literature,  unless  we  are 
ready  to  provide  the  simple  machinery  that  should  set  them 
free  to  work,  yet  we  need  ever  to  remind  ourselves  that  the 
organization  proposed  in  this  chapter  is  no  end  in  itself,  rather 
is  it  a  preparing  in  the  desert  the  way  of  the  Lord,  a  making 
smooth  the  paths,  along  which  He  may  send  His  messengers 
before  Him,  into  every  Moslem  land  whither  He  Himself 
would  come. 


APPENDICES 


Appendix  A 


PERSONNEL  OF  SURVEY  ORGANIZATION 


Committee  on  Survey  of 

CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  MOSLEMS 

(Appointed  jointly  by  the  Committee  of  Reference  and  Counsel  and  the 
Committee  on  Social  and  ReliRious  Surveys) 

Rev.  Cornelius  H.  Patton,  Chairnmn, 

14  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  U.  S.  A. 

Rev.  Charles  R.  Watson,  Secretary, 

Rev.  Frank  W.  Bible,  Secretary, 

25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  U.  S.  A. 

Rev.  a.  E.  Armstrong,  M.A.  Rev.  Eric  M.  North,  Ph.D. 

Rev.  W.  I.  Chamberlain,  Ph.D.  Mrs.  F.  G.  Platt 

Robert  E.  Speer,  D.D. 

Rev.  Stanley  White,  D.D. 

Talcott  Williams,  LL.D. 


Rev.  Canon  S.  Gould 
Rev.  D.  B.  MacDonald 
John  R.  Mott,  LL.D.,  D.D. 


Dr.  C.  S.  G.  Mylrea 


ADVISORY  MEMBERS 

M.  Le  Pasteur  Daniel  Couve,  Paris  Rev.  John  H.  Ritson,  D.D.,  London 
Col.  Sir  Robert  Williams,  Bt.,  M.P.,  London 


GENERAL  FIELD  COMMITTEE 

Rev.  F.  W.  MacCallum,  D.D., 

Bible  House,  Constantinople;  Turkey,  The  Balkans,  Russia. 

Rev.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  D.D., 

Egypt,  Egyptian  Sudan,  Abyssinia  and  the  Hedjaz,  also  isolated  areas. 
Rev.  W.  a.  Freidinger,  Murray  T.  Titus, 

Syria  and  Palestine.  Representing  India. 

A.  W.  Banfield,  W.  G.  Shellabear, 

West  Africa.  Malaysia  and  the  Philippines. 

Percy  Smith,  Rev.  John  Darroch, 

Representing  North  Africa.  China. 

W.  J.  W.  Roome,  H.  a.  Bilkert, 

Persia,  Afghanistan  and  Turkestan.  Arabia  and  Mesopotamia. 

J.  D.  Frame,  M.D., 

Persia,  Afghanistan  and  Turkestaa 

CO-OPTED  MEMBERS 

Rev.  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  Miss  C.  E.  Padwick, 

Egypt.  Research  and  Editorial  Work. 

[281] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


FIRST  CONFERENCE  AT  CAIRO 


December  13-19,  1921 

F.  W.  MacCallum,  Chairman, 

Turkey,  the  Balkans  and  Russia. 

Percy  Smith,  Secretary, 

North  Africa. 

Samuel  M.  Zwemer, 

Egypt,  Sudan,  Abyssinia  and  Hedjaz. 

W.  A.  Freidinger, 

Syria  and  Palestine. 

W.  H.  T.  Gairdner, 

Co-opted  Member. 

J.  R.  Alexander, 

Visitor. 


R.  W.  Caldwell, 
Visitor. 

Miss  De  Mayer, 

Visitor. 

Robert  S.  McClenahan, 
Visitor. 

George  Swan, 

Visitor. 

A.  T.  Upson, 

Visitor. 


SECOND  CONFERENCE  AT  CAIRO 
November  7-14,  1922 


F.  W.  MacCallum,  Chairman, 
Turkey  and  the  Balkans. 

Percy  Smith,  Secretary, 

North  Africa. 

W.  A.  Freidinger, 

Syria. 

James  E.  Hawkes, 

Persia. 

C.  Stanley  G.  Mylrea, 

Arabia. 

Murray  T.  Titus, 

India. 

Charles  R.  Watson, 

Representing  Committee  in  U. 

Samuel  M.  Zwemer, 

Egypti  Sudan  and  other  areas 


Miss  C.  E.  Padwick, 
Co-opted  Member. 

J.  R.  Alexander, 

Consultative  Member. 
Miss  C.  M.  Buchanan, 
Consultative  Member. 
W.  W.  Cash, 

Consultative  Member. 
Mrs.  C.  S.  G.  Mylrea, 
Consultative  Member, 
George  Swan, 

Consultative  Member. 
A.  T.  Upson, 

S.  Consultative  Member. 
Miss  Davida  Finney, 
Research  Secretary. 


FIELD  COMMITTEES 


west  AFRICA 

Report  received  from  Canon  Rowling. 


J.  J.  Cooksey 


north  AFRICA 

Percy  Smith,  Chairman 

M.  Eugene  Cuendet 


W.  H.  T.  Gairdner 
George  Swan 
R.  W.  Caldwell 

W.  A.  Freidinger 
J.  D.  Crawford 


EGYPT  AND  THE  SUDAN 

S.  M.  Zwemer,  Chairman 
A.  T.  Upson, 

Miss  C.  M.  Buchanan 

SYRIA  AND  PALESTINE 

Mr.  Bayard  Dodge 
Alfred  Nielson 
Pasteur  Emile  Bres 


[282] 


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i 


«.  •  *• 


APPENDIX  A 


TURKEY  AND  THE  BALKANS 

F.  W.  MacCallum,  Chairman 
Charles  T.  Riggs  R.  F.  Goodsell 


J.  W.  Wiles, 

Belgrade,  Serbia. 
Samuel  Irwin  Novi, 
Sad.,  Serbia. 

J.  Riggs  Brewster, 
Salonica,  Greece. 
Gotfreid  Pederson, 

Philipople,  Bulgaria. 
J.  H.  Brige, 

Smyrna. 


correspondents 

H.  H.  Riggs, 

Constantinople. 

Edgar  McNaughton, 

Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Berlin. 
Metropolitan  Antonius  von  Kief, 
Serbia. 

Johannes  Lepsius, 

Berlin. 

E.  A.  Yarrlow, 

Tiflis,  Ga. 


ARABIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

H.  A.  Bilkert,  Chairman, 

E.  E.  Calverley  C.  J.  Pennings 

John  C.  Young  James  Cantine 

G.  D.  Van  Peursen  John  Van  Ess 


E.  T.  Allen 


H.  D.  Griswold 
Ahmed  Shah 


J.  B.  Mathews 


PERSIA 

J.  Davidson  Frame,  Chairman 
S.  M.  Jordan 

INDIA 

M.  T.  Titus,  Chairman 

R.  SiRAJ-UD-EhN 
L.  Bevan  Jones 

MALAYSIA 

W.  G.  Shellabear,  Chairman 
A.  J.  Blick 
Paul  Pennings 


CHINA 

John  Darroch, 

and  members  of  a  subcommittee  on  work  among  Moslems 
appointed  by  the  China  Continuation  Committee. 

NOTE:  Each  field  Committee  was  aided  by  a  number  of  corre¬ 
spondents  whose  names  are  not  available  for  printing,  except  in  the  case 
of  the  Committee  for  Turkey  and  the  Balkans. 


[283] 


Appendix  B 


A  NEW  CENSUS  OF  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD, 

S.  M.  ZWEMER 

A  census  of  the  Mohammedans  in  the  world  is  desirable 
because  the  discrepancies  in  the  different  statistical  surveys 
attempted  by  various  authorities  and  hitherto  published  are 
as  disconcerting  as  they  are  surprising.  Most  of  the  estimates, 
it  is  true,  have  been  made  by  Western  writers;  but  they  have 
often  repeated  figures  given  by  Moslems,  or,  in  some  cases, 
of  pro-Islamic  orators  who  exaggerated  totals. 

During  the  negotiations  of  the  Peace  Treaty  of  Sevres, 
for  example,  an  Indian  Mohammedan  wrote  an  appeal  on 
behalf  of  the  400,000,000  Moslems  in  the  world.  In  the 
Revue  du  Monde  Musulmun,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  770-798,  there  is  a 
long  review  of  a  book  ‘‘Siyahat  U1  Kubra” — The  Great 
Travels — ^by  Suleiman  Chukri  Bey,  printed  at  St.  Petersburg 
in  1907,  in  which  this  Moslem  globe-trotter  gives  the  total 
Moslem  population  of  the  world  as  360,766,695,  of  which 
10,719,658  are  in  Europe,  218,789,957  in  Asia,  98,952,000 
in  Africa  and  32,305,000  in  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 
El  Moayyad,  a  Cairo  newspaper,  dated  9th  November,  1909, 
gave  the  total  population  of  the  Moslem  world  as  270,- 
000,000;  but  of  these  40,000,000  were  said  to  live  in  China, 
where  we  know  there  are  fewer  than  12,000,000.  In  another 
case,  one  to  which  the  late  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  has 
called  attention,  the  Sublime  Porte  under  the  Hamidian 
Regime  carefully  copied  a  survey  of  the  Moslem  world  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Missiomtry  Review  of  the  World  in  1898,  and 
gave  it  as  an  accurate  census  taken  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Sultan  and  at  his  expense.  His  letter  on  the  subject 
dated  Beirut,  October  15,  1900,  reads: 

[284] 


APPENDIX  B 


once  translated  your  statistical  summary  of  tHe  number 
of  Moslems  in  the  world,  196,000,000,  and  showed  it  to  the 
Mudir  al  Maarif.  He  took  it  and  afterwards  replied  that 
it  could  not  be  published,  as  the  Emperor  William  in  Damascus 
has  spoken  publicly  of  the  Moslems  as  300,000,000.  I  told 
him  the  Emperor  was  simply  quoting  the  exaggerated  state¬ 
ment  of  a  Moslem  sheikh  at  the  dinner  table;  but  the  Mudir 
kept  it  and  sent  it  to  Constantinople  and  now  it  has  come 
out  as  the  official  census  made  by  the  Sultan’s  government 
and  published  by  the  Turk.” 

In  the  following  table  are  other  more  careful  estimates 
from  various  sources  given  in  the  order  of  totals,  beginning 
with  the  highest  estimate: 


HUBERT  JANSEN,  Verbreitung  des  Islam  (1898) . 259,680,672 

C.  H.  BECKER  in  Baedeker’s  Egypt  (German  Edition) . 250,000,000 

H.  WICHMAN  in  Justus  Perthes  Atlas,  1903 .  240,000,000 

THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY,  Cairo  Con¬ 
ference,  1906  .  232,996,170 

LAWRENCE  MARTIN,  in  “Foreign  Affairs,”  March,  1923..  230,000,000 

MARTIN  HARTMANN,  1910 .  233,985,780 

WHITAKER’S  ALMANAC,  1919  (English  Edition) . 221,825,000 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD,  The  Moslem 

World,  April,  1914  .  201,296,696 

LUCKNOW  CONFERENCE  REPORT,  1911  estimate . 200,000,000 

S.  M.  ZWEMER,  In  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  1898. .  196,491,842 

ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  MISSIONS,  1904 .  I93,55o,ooo 

ALLGEMEINE  MISSIONS  ZEITSCHRIFT,  1902 .  175,290,000 

BROCKHAUS  KONVERS-LEXIKON,  1894 .  175,000,000 


The  most  detailed  statistics  can  be  found  in  Jansen  but 
they  are  not  reliable  and  are  generally  over-estimated,  espe¬ 
cially  in  regard  to  Siam,  China  and  the  Philippine  Islands  as 
well  as  the  former  German  colonies  in  Africa  and  Abyssinia, 
where  he  finds  no  fewer  than  800,000  Mohammedans.  Gen¬ 
erally  speaking,  the  population  of  countries  such  as  Morocco, 
Persia,  Arabia  and  Northern  Equatorial  Africa  (where  there 
are  large  desert  tracts)  has  been  estimated  too  high. 

In  preparing  our  new  estimate,  there  are  several  large 
areas  concerning  which  we  are  able  to  speak  with  much  greater 
accuracy  than  was  the  case  in  the  survey  made  before  the 
World  War  of  1914.  The  China  Continuation  Committee 
Survey  has  given  us  careful  statistics  regarding  China,  and 

[285] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


census  reports  of  more  recent  dates  are  now  available  for 
India,  Malaysia,  Egypt  and  several  other  countries. 

The  total  number  of  Mohammedans  in  the  world,  according 
to  this  new  estimate,  is  234,814,989.  Of  these,  105,723,000 
are  under  British  rule  or  protection;  while  under  other 
Western  governments  in  possession  of  colonies  there  are 
94,482,077,  as  indicated  below : 

DISTRIBUTION  BY  GOVERNMENTS 
Under  British  Rule  or  Occupation 


In  Africa  .  28,910,000 

In  Asia  . 76,788,000 

In  Australia  .  25,000  105,723,000 


Under  Other  Western  Governments 

In  Africa: 


Belgium  .  1,764,000 

France  . 28,502,332 

Italy  .  1,659,000 

Portugal  .  239,000 

Spain  . S94»5oo 

Abyssinia  and  Liberia  . 800,000 

In  Asia  and  America: 

United  States  (including  Philippines)  . . .  597, 000 

Dutch  .  39,000,000 

French  . .  3,341,860 

Russia  (Asia  and  Europe)  .  15,320,000 

Europe  (outside  Turkey)  .  2,469,957 

Central  and  South  America .  193,429 


94482,077 


This  leaves  in  round  numbers  only  33,000,000  Mohammedans 
not  under  Western  governments.  Of  this  number,  only 
8,321,000  remain  under  Turkish  rule  in  what  was  once  the 
Ottoman  Empire  or  only  a  little  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  Moslem  world  population.  The  remainder  not  under 
Western  rule  are  in  China,  Afghanistan,  Persia,  Siam  and 
parts  of  Arabia. 

Another  fact  deserves  attention.  Professor  Margoliouth 
states  {Mohammedanism,  p.  14)  that  ‘Tslam  in  the  main  is  a 
religion  of  the  heat  belt,  the  part  of  the  earth’s  sunrise  which 
lies  between  30  degrees  N.  Latitude  and  30  degrees  S.  Latitude 
[286] 


APPENDIX  B 


with  a  mean  temperature  of  6o°  F”;  and  he  quotes  Mr. 
Alleyn  Ireland  as  saying — “During  the  past  five  hundred 
years  the  people  of  this  belt  have  added  nothing  whatever  to 
human  advancement.  Those  natives  of  the  tropics  and  sub¬ 
tropics  who  have  not  been  under  direct  European  influence 
have  not  during  that  time  made  a  single  contribution  of  the 
first  importance  to  art,  literature,  science,  manufacture  or  in¬ 
vention.  They  have  not  produced  an  engineer,  or  a  chemist, 
or  a  biologist,  or  a  historian  or  a  printer  or  a  musician  of  the 
first  rank.’^  But  a  study  of  our  statistics  shows  that  such 
generalisations  are  rash,  for  Islam  has  extended  far  to  the 
north  and  south  of  this  heat  belt  and  counts  outside  this  area  a 
population  of  no  less  than  64,090,000.  These  are  distributed 
in  general  as  follows : 


OUTSIDE  THE  HEAT  BELT 

In  Morocco  .  5,000,000 

Algeria  .  5,000,000 

Tunisia  .  1,890,000 

Kashmir  . 3,000,000 

Half  of  the  Punjab  .  6,000,000 

In  Russia  . .  15,000,000 

Three-quarters  of  China  .  6,000,000 

Afghanistan  .  6,000,000 

Turkey  in  Asia  .  8,000,000 

Three-quarters  of  Persia  .  6,000,000 

Europe  .  2,000,000 

North  and  South  America .  200,000 


Total  .  64,090,000 


A  much  more  important  division  of  the  Moslem  world 
population  than  that  by  climate  or  even  according  to  govern¬ 
ment  is  the  classification  of  Moslems  according  to  the  character 
of  their  beliefs  and  practices. 

Snouck  Hurgronje,  Warneck  and  Simon  have  conclusively 
shown  that  the  Mohammedans  of  Malaysia  are  of  animistic 
type  and  have  little  in  common  with  Moslems  of  the  orthodox 
kind  in  North  Africa  and  Arabia.  Of  the  total  number  who 
call  themselves  Moslems  we  must  reckon,  therefore,  that  per¬ 
haps  sixty  millions  in  Africa,  Malaysia  and  part  of  India 
belong  to  this  animistic  type,  or,  in  the  words  of  Gottfried 
Simon  are  really  “heathen-Mohammedans.”  The  Shiah  sect 

[287] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


(NOTE:  The  total  of  Moslem  population,  as  shown  in  the  charts  on  this  and  the 
following  page  and  in  the  population  map  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  differs 
slightly  from  the  figures  given  elsewhere  in  the  Appendix,  the  reason  being  that 
the  latter  were  revised  at  the  last  moment  to  accord  with  latest  estimates.  The 
difference  is,  however,  so  slight  as  in  no  way  to  affect  the  validity  of  the  charts.) 


[288] 


APPENDIX  B 


POLITICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MOSLEMS 


[289] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


in  Persia  and  India  is  also  a  distinct  group,  but  does  not  number 
more  than  twelve  millions.  Perhaps  from  six  to  ten  millions 
of  the  total  Moslem  population  in  Europe,  South  America, 
Algeria,  Syria,  Persia,  Turkey,  India  and  Egypt  have  so  far 
adopted  Western  education  and  broken  away  from  the  old 
Islamic  standards  of  the  orthodox  Tradition,  that  they  should 
be  separately  classified  as  New  Moslems.  This  would  leave 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  orthodox  Moslems  who 
follow  the  Sunna  of  the  Prophet,  and  are  therefore  cognisant 
of  the  existence  and  of  the  distinctions  of  the  four  great 
schools — Hanifi,  Maliki,  Shafa’i,  Hanabali.  The  Hanifi  are 
in  the  great  majority  and  number  perhaps  ninety -three  mil¬ 
lions,  chiefly  in  Turkey,  India,  Russia  and  Central  Asia.  The 
Maliki  school  is  predominant  in  Upper  Egypt  and  North 
Africa  and  numbers  about  twenty  millions.  The  Shafa’i  are 
found  chiefly  in  Lower  Egypt,  Southern  India,  and  Malaysia, 
numbering  about  thirty-five  millions,  while  the  Hanabali  are 
found  mostly  in  Central  and  Eastern  Arabia  and  do  not  num¬ 
ber  over  two  million  altogether.  From  this  school  the 
Wahhabi  sect  and  later,  the  Ikhwan  movement  sprang. 

Another  classification  of  Moslem  population  which  is  of 
considerable  importance  is  that  according  to  literacy.  For 
two  large  areas  we  have  accurate  returns,  namely,  British 
India  and  Egypt.  For  other  lands  we  can  only  make  esti¬ 
mates,  based  on  investigations  by  missionaries  and  travellers. 
The  figures  of  illiteracy  for  Egypt  according  to  the  government 
census  (1917)  indicate  that  of  the  Moslem  population  9.9  per 
cent,  of  the  men  and  0.6  per  cent,  of  the  women  can  read.  For 
India  similar  statistics  are  given  in  the  census  and  are  equally 
astounding  in  the  revelation  of  so  great  an  amount  of  illiteracy. 
Based  on  these  returns  we  have  made  estimates  of  other  coun¬ 
tries,  and  the  conclusion  is  that  the  total  number  of  Moslems 
in  the  world  able  to  read  is  less  than  eight  millions  and  of  these 
fewer  than  500,000  are  women.  These  facts  emphasise  at 
once  the  intensive  need  of  leadership  for  the  educated  classes 
of  Islam  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  printed  page  to  reach  the 
masses  unless  supplemented  by  the  living  message  in  the 
vernacular. 

[290] 


APPENDIX  B 


The  following  table  presents  these  interesting  facts  in 
outline : 

LITERACY  IN  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

(Estimated  totals,  in  round  numbers,  of  those  of  both  sexes  who 
are  literate,  on  basis  of  new  census  estimates.) 


Total 

.  .  .  ,  Moslem 

British  Possessions  in  Asia:  Literates 

Total  Moslem  population  78  million. 

Literates  according  to  Indian  Census  3.7%  .  2,886,000 

Egypt  and  North  Africa: 

Total  Moslem  population  30  million. 

On  basis  of  literacy  in  Egypt  5%  .  1,500,000 

Remainder  of  Africa: 

31  million  at  2%  .  620,000 

Europe  {exclusive  of  Russia)  and  America: 

2^  million 

Estimated  at  20%  .  500,000 

Independent,  Arabia,  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  Turkey: 

Total  population  20  million. 

Literacy  not  over  6%  .  1,200,000 

Russia  in  Europe  and  Asia: 

Total  Moslem  population  15  million. 

Literacy  20%  .  3,000,000 

China: 

Total  population  9  million. 

Say  6%  . . 540,000 

Dutch  East  Indies,  Philippines,  Siam,  etc.: 

Total  populatior  47  million. 

Say  4%  .  1,880,000 


12,126,000 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  estimated  number  of  those  who 
listen  to  one  reader  is  at  least  five.  Therefore,  the  total  of 
those  accessible  by  the  printed  page  is  nearly  sixty-one  million 
or  a  little  over  one-fifth  of  the  total  population.  We  note  also 
that  illiteracy  is  decreasing  rapidly  in  those  lands  where  the 
Government  is  pushing  popular  education. 

Here  follows  the  census  for  all  lands  in  detail  and  the 
totals  for  each  continental  division,  giving  authority  in  each 
case  for  our  estimate  of  Moslem  population. 


[291] 


A  STATISTICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 


LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS  USED  IN  FOLLOWING  TABLES 

S.Y.B. — Statesman’s  Year  Book,  1922. 

P.H.B. — Peace  Hand  Books — H.M.  Stationery  Office,  1920. 

M.W. — Moslem  World  Quarterly  Review.  (Figures  give  Vol.  &  Page.) 
C.O.L. — Civil  Office  List  London. 

R.M.M. — Revue  du  Monde  Musulman.  (Figures  give  Vol.  &  Page.) 


Total  for  whole  world  234,814,989,  as  follows: 


Country 

Total 

Moslem 

or  State 

Population 

Population 

Authority 

NORTH  AMERICA  TOTAL 

11,000 

United  States  . . . 

.  114,511,514 

11,000 

Est.  based  on  1920  census. 

CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH 

AMERICA  TOTAL 

193,429 

racial  statistics. 

Argentine  . 

8,698,516 

7,520 

R.  M.  M.  4 :3I4 

Brazil  . 

.  30,645,296 

100,600 

Ibid. 

Chile  . 

.  3,753,723 

150 

Ibid. 

Cuba  . 

.  2,889,004 

2,500 

Ibid. 

Quadeloupe  . 

229,822 

3,200 

Ibid. 

Guiana,  British  .. 

297,691 

24,800 

est.  based  on 

Dutch  ... 

113,181 

15,431 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

French  .. 

49,000 

1,570 

R.  M.  M.  4:314 

Jamaica  . 

857,921 

3,000 

est.  based  on 

Martinique  . 

244,439 

2,700 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

R.  M.  M.  4:314 

Mexico  . 

.  15,501,684 

4,453 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

Paraguay  . 

1,050,000 

300 

R.  M.  M.  4:314 

Peru  . 

.  4,620,201 

500 

Ibid. 

Trinidad  . 

391,279 

26,000 

est.  based  on 

Uruguay  . 

.  1,494,953 

500 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

R.  M.  M.  4:314 

Venezuela  . 

Windward  Is.  . . . 

.  2,411,952 

162,702 

205 

R.  M.  M.  4:314 

AUSTRALIA  . 

.  5,436,794 

25,000 

For.  Affairs  1:139 

POLYNESIA 

7^  •  •  • 

tljl  . 

.  162,604 

15,000 

M.  W.  9:265 

EUROPE  TOTAL  including  Russia  in 
Asia  .  172,780,676 

17,789,957 

[292] 


APPENDIX  B 


Total 

Country  Population 

Albania  .  1,400,000 

Bulgaria  .  4,861,439 

Greece  .  5,447,007 

Hungary  .  7,840,832 

Montenegro  .  450,000 

Rumania  .  I7»393,i49 

Russia 

European  .  93,3^7,9^31 

Minor  Areas  . . .  2 1,404,745 5 

Siberia  .  9,257,825 

Serb  Croat 

Slovene  State  ....  1 1,337,686 

AFRICA  TOTAL  .  I25,8o6,77I 

Belgian  Congo  ...  11,008,221 


Portuguese 

Guinea  .  289,000 

Mozambique  . . .  3,120,000 

Spanish 

Rio  de  Oro  & 

Adrar  .  80,000 

Ifni  .  20,000 

Span.  Morocco..  600,000 

Abyssinia  . est.  4,000,000 

Liberia  .  2,000,000 

Italian 

Eritrea  .  405,681 

Somaliland  .  650,000 

Lybia  .  1,000,000 

French 

Algeria  .  5,800,974 

Congo  .  9,000,000 

Comores  & 

Mayotte  .  97,6i7i 

Madagascar  ....  3,545, 575S 

Somaliland  .  65,000 

West  Africa 

Senegal  .  1,225,523 

Guinea  .  1,875,996 

Ivory  Coast  . .  1,545,680 

Dahomey  .  842,243 


Moslem 

Population 

Authority 

830,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

672,500 

P.  H.  B.  No.  22  p.  8 

475,000 

For.  Affairs  1:139 

105,000 

P.  H.  B.  No.  19  p.  36 

44,087 

S.  Y.  B  1922 

15,200,000 

Arnold  Toynbee  in  Journ. 
Asiatic  Soc.  vol.  5,  parts 
I,  2. 

120,000 

est.  of  Min.  of  Inter. 
M.  W.  6:203 

343,370 

Census  1920 

59,444,397 

1,764,000 

est.  based  on  report  of 
Gov.,  1917,  and  P.  H.  B. 
No.  199  p.  47 

100,000 

est.  based  on  Westermann 
M.  W.  4:150 

130,000 

Ibid. 

79,500 

est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 
No.  124,  p.  8  &  17 

20,000 

Ibid. 

495,000 

est.  of  Count  Merry  del 
Val.  M.  W.  10:408 

t.  2,000,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

300,000 

P.  H.  B.  No.  130;  p.  20 

300,000 

P.  H.  B.  No.  126  p.  19 

650,000 

P.  H.  B.  No.  128  p.  14 

700,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

4,979,547 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

5,700,000 

est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 
No.  108  p.  17 

75,000 

Westermann,  M.  W. 

4:151 

65,000 

P.  H.  B.  No.  109  p.  16 

1,225,000  P.  H,  B.  No.  100  p.  3 
1,563,000  est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 

No.  103  p.  5  &  6 

305,000  est.  based  on  1913  A.  E. 

and  pop.  increase 
294,000  est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 

No.  105  p.  6 

[293] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Total 

Moslem 

Country 

Population 

Population 

Sudan  . 

2,473,606 

1,551,000 

Upper  Volta  . 

2,973,442 

444,000 

Mauritania  . . . 

261,746 

250,000 

Terr,  of  Niger 

1,084,042 

1,084,042 

Tunisia  . 

2,093,939 

1,889,388 

Morocco  . 

5,487,800 

5,323,495 

British 

Uganda  . 

3,071,608 

73,000 

Nyasaland  . 

1,201,519 

50,000 

Egypt  . 

12,750,918 

11,658,148 

Sudan  . 

3,400,000 

1,793,000 

Kenya  . 

2,630,000 

427,000 

Tanganyika  .... 

7,659,898 

1,276,600 

Zanzibar  & 

Pemba  . 

196,733 

183,600 

Basutoland  . 

500,544' 

Bechuanaland  . . 

152,983 

Rhodesia  . 

1,735,000 

'  9,03s 

Swaziland  . 

133,563] 

Union  of 

So.  Africa  ... 

6,922,813 

45,842 

Nigeria  . 

16,250,000 

10,833,000 

Gambia  . 

240,000 

28,800 

Gold  Coast  .... 

2,029,750 

101,400 

Sierra  Leone  . . . 

1,403,132 

300,000 

Togoland  . 

1,032,125 

500,000 

Cameroons  . 

2,649,000 

578,000 

Somaliland  . 

300,000 

300,000 

ASIA  AND  ISLANDS  TOTAL  . 

157,336,206 

Authority 

Annuaire  de  gouv’t  1922 
Ibid. 

P.  H.  B.  No.  106  p.  9 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 
Ibid. 

P.  H.  B.  No.  96  p.  52 
est.  of  C.  H.  Patton 
“Lure  of  Africa”  p.  61 
S.  Y.  B.  1922 
Gov’t  Almanac  1916 
est.  of  L.  Martin 
For.  Affairs  1:139 
est.  of  C.  H.  Patton 
“Lure  of  Africa”  p.  61 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

C  O.  L.  1913  &  pop. 
increase 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 
est.  of  C.  H.  Patton 
“Lure  of  Africa”  p.  61 
P.  H.  B.  No.  1 12  p.  17 
P.  H.  B.  No.  91  p.  13 
C.  O.  L.  1913  corrected 
by  pop.  increase 
est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 
No.  10  p.  24 

est.  based  on  Westermann 
M.  W.  4:150 
S.  Y.  B.  1922 


British 

Aden  &  Perim. .  54,923 

Sokotra  & 

Kuria  Muria..  12,000 

Bahrein  Is .  110,000 

Borneo  .  208,183 

Brunei  .  25,454 

Sarawak  .  600,000 

Ceylon  .  4,504,283 

Maidive  Is .  70,199 

India  &  De¬ 
pendencies  ...  319,075,132 
Straits 

Settlements  . . .  883,769 


54,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

12,000 

Ibid. 

109,000 

Ibid. 

162,500 

Ibid. 

23,900 

Ibid. 

150,000 

est.  of  W.  G.  Shellabear 

M.  W.  9:379 

302,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

70,199 

M.  W.  13:67 

70,000,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922  est. 

258,719 

est.  of  W.  G.  Shellabear 

M.  W.  9:379 


[294] 


APPENDIX  B 


Total 

Country  Population 

Fed.  Malay- 

State  s  .  1,324,890 

Protected 

Malay  States...  1,123,264 

Cyprus  .  274,108 

Armenian  Rep.  ...  1,214,391 

Azerbaijan  .  2,096,973 

Georgia  .  2,372403 

Mesopotamia  .  2,849,282 

Palestine  .  770,000 

Oman  .  500,000 

Persia  .  10,000,000 

Siam  .  9,121,000 

Syria  &  Lebanon. .  3,400,000 

Turkey  .  8,961,900 

Arabia  .  3,400,000 

China 

China  Proper  ..  411,491,940 
Dependencies  ...  16,540,000 

Afghanistan  .  6,380,500 

East  Indies 
Portuguese 

Timor  .  377, 815 

American 

Philippines  .  10,350,730 

Dutch 

East  Indies  ....  49,303,321 


French 

India  .  265,200 

Indo-China  .  16,990,229 

Totals  by  Continents: 

NORTH  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA 

EUROPE  AND  AUSTRALIA . 

ASIA  AND  ISLANDS  . 

AFRICA  . . 


Moslem 

Population 

'Authority 

420,840 

Ibid. 

758,060 

Ibid. 

56,428 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

670,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1921 

1,572,929 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

2,300,000 

est.  of  Arnold  Toynbee 
Journ.  Asiatic  Soc.  5: 
Pt.  2  &  3 

2,640,700 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

600,000 

Ibid. 

500,000 

Ibid. 

9,350,000 

Ibid. 

150,000 

est.  of  W.  G.  Shellabear 
M.  W.  9 :379 

3,000,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

8,321,000 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

3,400,000 

Ibid. 

6,433,000 

China  Cont. 

2,703,000 

Committee 

6,380,000 

est.  based  on  L.  Martin 
For.  Aff.  I  ;i39  &  S  Y  B 
1922 

9,000 

est.  based  on  P.  H.  B. 
No.  80  p.  3  &  W.  G. 
Shellabear  M.  W.  9 1379 

586,999 

S.  Y.  B.  1922 

36,000,000 

est.  of  W.  G.  Shellabear 
corrected  by  pop.  in¬ 
crease 

13,260 

P.  H.  B.  No.  77  p.  18 

328,600 

204,429 

17,829,957 

157,336,206 

59,444,397 

M.  W.  8  ;269 

[295]' 


234,814,989 


I 


INDEX 


’0 


/ 


/ 


i 

(• 

r 

I. 


"■I 


/V-.  j 


INDEX 


*Abbas  Hirza,  loo. 

‘Abbas  Mirza,  loo. 

Abdul  Halim  Sharar,  27. 

Abyssinian  language,  Christian 
literature  in  the,  158. 

Advertising,  enlisting  the  co-oper¬ 
ation  of  missionaries,  247;  gen¬ 
eral  advertising,  249. 

Afghanistan,  divided  in  language, 
107. 

Africa,  literature  for  Moslems  in, 

153. 

Africa,  North,  government  atti¬ 
tude  in,  20;  problem  of  pro¬ 
duction  of  Christian  literature 
in,  199;  publisher  and  printer 
in,  226. 

African  languages,  170. 

Ahmadiya  Moslems,  sect  of  the, 

30. 

Alaka  Paulas,  159. 

Alaka  Petros,  159. 

Alevis,  the,  86. 

Algeria,  Christian  literature  in, 
67;  linguistic  map  of,  163;  lit¬ 
erature  needed,  6g;  new  Mos¬ 
lem  literature  in,  24;  spread  of 
literacy  in,  20. 

Al  Islam,  120,  262. 

A1  Kindy,  33. 

Al  Manar,  the,  262. 

A.  L.  O.  E.,  42. 

Al  Gibla,  25. 

Al  Waqai‘a  al  Masriya,  24. 

Amdn-t- Afghan,  108. 

American  Christian  Literature 
Society  for  Moslems,  52. 

American  (United  Presbyterian) 
Mission,  72. 

America  Press,  the,  60,  109,  225. 

Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam,  115. 

Anselm,  32. 

Aouelimmiden,  the,  164. 


Apologetic  literature,  58,  63,  68; 
special,  66;  development  of, 
plan  for,  69. 

Arabia,  Christian  literature  in, 
64,  65;  literature  needed,  65; 
new  Moslem  literature  in,  25; 
problem  of  production  of 
Christian  literature  in,  198; 
publisher  and  printer  in,  226; 
spread  of  literacy  in,  19. 

Arabic  character  used  more 
widely  than  any  other,  49. 

Arabic  language,  colloquial  litera¬ 
ture,  56 ;  conclusions  as  to,  169 ; 
greatest  language  of  Islam,  48; 
importance  of,  48;  literature  in 
the,  for  Egyptian  Sudan  and 
Belgian  Congo,  160;  need  for 
publications  in  colloquial,  74; 
spread  of  Christian  literature 
in  the,  49,  50. 

Arabic  Press,  262. 

Archer,  William,  iii. 

Armstrong,  Dr.  W.  F.,  128. 

Arnold,  Dr.  T.  W.,  75. 

Ashkar,  Mr.  George,  72. 

UAuhe,  iy6. 

Authorship,  combined,  a  present 
compromise,  194;  development 
of,  195;  Eastern  or  Western, 
192;  free  from  prejudices  or 
narrowness  of  vision,  186;  lack 
of  provision  for,  186;  trans¬ 
lators  or  original  writers?  190. 

Azad,  the,  99. 

Azerbaijani  Turki,  98,  106. 

Azerbaijani  Turkish  language, 
literature  published  in  the,  84. 

Bagdad,  19. 

Bahais,  Christian  literature  in 
language  of,  the,  105. 

Bahaism,  55. 


[299] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Bakhtiaris,  the,  io6. 

Balkans,  Moslems  in  the,  97. 

Bantu  language,  154,  155. 

Basset,  Henri,  164. 

Bazin,  Rene,  165. 

Becker,  Professor  C.  H.,  18. 

Belgian  Congo,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  160. 

Beluchi  language,  existent  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  127. 

Bengali  language,  120;  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  121 ;  lit¬ 
erature  needed  in,  122. 

Bey  an,  the,  105. 

Berber  languages,  162. 

Berber  tribes,  20. 

Beshair  es  Saldm,  42. 

Bey,  Professor  Ilyas  Bragon, 

183- 

Bible  Histories,  70,  117. 

Biblical  books,  58,  62. 

Bilkert,  Rev.  A.  H.,  72. 

Biographies,  66,  70,  119. 

Black  Sea  area,  problem  of  pro¬ 
duction  of  Christian  literature 
in,  201. 

Bobrovnikoff,  Madame,  88 

Bonne  Revue,  La,  176. 

Books,  lists  of,  sent  for  this  sur¬ 
vey,  35. 

Bookshops,  20. 

Border  languages,  125. 

Bosnard,  Magali,  30. 

Brent,  Bishop,  145,  225. 

Britain,  English  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  for  Moslems,  181 ;  Mos¬ 
lem  literature  in,  179;  periodi¬ 
cals,  181. 

British  government  and  the 
Press,  20. 

British  government  schools,  21. 

Browne,  Professor  E.  G.,  257. 

Bureau  voor  Lectuue,  139. 

Burmese  language,  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  128. 

Caldwell,  Mr.,  237. 

Cash,  Rev.  W.  W.,  61. 

Catholic  (Jesuit)  Press,  the,  60, 
225. 

[300] 


Census  of  the  Moslem  World,  a 
new,  284. 

Central  Literature  Bureau,  272; 
linguistic  watersheds,  276 ;  local 
organization,  275;  relationships 
of,  275 ;  task  of,  essentially 
spiritual,  277;  the  staff  needed, 
274. 

Characters,  studies  in  bible,  57. 

China,  literature  for  Moslems  in, 
146;  Moslem  world  in,  146, 
147;  new  Moslem  literature  in, 
28;  problem  of  producing 
Christian  literature  in,  198; 
publisher  and  printer  in,  223. 

China  Continuation  Committee 
Survey,  286. 

Chinese  language,  existing  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  149;  litera¬ 
ture  needed,  151. 

Chinese  Turkestan,  Moslems  of, 
91. 

Christian  doctrines,  explanation 
of,  1 18. 

Christian  literature  and  the  New 
World  of  Islam,  39. 

Christian  Literature  Society,  36. 

Christian  Press,  the  (see  “Litera¬ 
ture,  Christian”),  summary, 

38.  ^ 

Christian  Science  Monitor,  The, 
261. 

Circassian  language,  52. 

Circulation,  adverse  factors  for, 
232 ;  advertising,  247 ;  local  sec¬ 
retaries  for,  251;  managers 
needed,  250;  methods  of,  book¬ 
shops,  236;  circulation  by  mis¬ 
sionaries  and  associate  workers, 
240;  colportage,  243;  free  dis¬ 
tribution,  234 ;  mission  hospitals 
as  centres  of  distribution,  242; 
personnel  of,  250. 

Clayton,  Rev.  A.  C.,  iii. 

Cole,  Rev.  M.  S.,  i63. 

Colportage,  243;  co-operation  in, 
245 ;  training  and  status  of, 
252. 

Colloquial  literature,  56,  133. 

Commentaries,  117. 


INDEX 


Committee  of  the  World’s  Sun¬ 
day  School  Association,  52. 

Comrade,  The,  262. 

Congo,  Belgian,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  160. 

Co-operation,  171. 

Coptic  church,  159. 

Correspondance  d'Orient,  174. 

Cromer,  Lord,  24. 

Ctir  Deus  Homo,  32. 

Decorated  Scripture,  68;  ' 

Dennis,  James  S.,  79. 

Diglot  literature,  73. 

Dutch  government  schools,  21. 

^Eberhart,  Isabel,  30. 

Ecce  Homo  Arabicus,  39. 

Echos  de  IT  slam,  175. 

Lf  Eclair  eur,  176. 

Eddy,  Dr.  Sherwood,  262, 

Editorial  Board  of  Orient  and 
Occident,  52. 

Education,  French,  in  North 
Africa,  21 ;  in  India,  21. 

Educational  books,  62. 

Educative  literature,  66. 

Edwardes,  Sir  Herbert,  36. 

Egypt,  Christian  literature  in,  51 ; 
new  Moslem  literature  in,  24; 
noteworthy  features  of  the 
Nile  Mission  Press  in,  54;  note¬ 
worthy  features  of  literature 
produced  by  other  societies  in, 
56;  problem  of  production  of 
Christian  literature  in,  200 ; 
publisher  and  printer  in,  225; 
spread  of  literacy  in,  20. 

Egyptian  Sudan,  Arabic  used  in 
the,  160;  Christian  literature 
in,  160. 

Encyclopedia  Britannica,  25. 

English  language  among  the  In¬ 
dian  Moslems,  124;  literature 
in  the,  for  Moslems,  178. 

Epiphany,  The,  264. 

Erickson,  Rev.  C.  T.,  96. 

Esperance,  176. 

Europe,  as  part  of  the  Moslem 
world,  173. 


Evangelism,  newspaper,  257. 

Evangelistic  tracts,  booklets,  and 
pictures,  70,  118. 

Expository  literature,  66. 

Farquhar,  Dr.  203. 

Figaro,  the,  174. 

Ford,  Rev.  G.  A.,  63. 

Fossum,  Pastor  O.  L.,  107. 

Foucauld,  Pere  de,  165. 

La  Fraternite  Musulmane,  174. 

Francis,  St.,  33. 

French  language,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  for  Moslems,  174;  in 
North  Africa,  20;  literature 
needed,  177;  periodicals  that 
may  be  used,  175. 

Funds,  use  of,  for  free  distribu¬ 
tion  of  literature,  235. 

Gairdner,  Canon  W.  H.  T.,  39, 
61,  73- 

Garden  of  the  Heart,  The,  263. 

Gazaq  language,  literature  pub¬ 
lished  in  the,  94. 

German  language,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in,  for  Moslems,  182. 

Germany,  Christian  literature  for 
Moslems  in,  182. 

Gospel  message,  the  same  for  all, 
46. 

Gujerati  language,  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  129. 

Hamburg  Kolonial  Institut,  257. 

Hanabali,  the,  288. 

Hanifi,  the,  288. 

Heat  belt,  Islam  and  the,  287. 

Herrick,  Dr.  George,  83. 

Hindi  language,  existent  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  124. 

Home  church,  duty  of  the,  189. 

Home  reading,  general,  59,  71. 

Hooper,  C.  T.,  159. 

Housa  language,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in  the,  167. 

Hunter,  Rev.  G.  W.,  93. 

Hurgronje,  Snouck,  18. 

Hutson,  Mr.,  148. 

[301]' 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Hyderabad,  Osmanieh  University 
of,  115. 

Ikhwan  movement,  19,  288. 

Illustrated  London  News,  the 
238. 

Illustrated  parables,  68. 

Ilm,  135. 

Ilminski,  Professor,  88. 

India,  Christian  literature  in, 
III;  English  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  178;  Mohammedan 
education  in  India,  21 ;  new 
Moslem  literature  in,  26;  prob¬ 
lem  of  production  of  Christian 
literature  in,  203 ;  publisher  and 
printer,  in,  223;  spread  of  lit¬ 
eracy  in,  20. 

Inkishafl,  the,  155. 

Instruction  Books,  118. 

Insulinde,  definition  of,  134;  lan¬ 
guages  to  be  used  in,  139;  lit¬ 
erature  produced  in,  139. 

Jranschahr,  the,  258. 

*Iraq,  Christian  literature  in,  64, 
65;  literature  needed,  65;  new 
Moslem  literature  in,  25 ; 
spread  of  literacy  in,  19. 

Ireland,  Alleyn,  287. 

Islamic  Review,  the,  30,  180,  262. 

Ulslamisme,  178. 

Ismail  Bey  Gasprinsky,  26,  88. 

Italian  language,  183. 

Ittihad-i-Mashriqi,  108. 

Ishdr-al-Haqq,  23. 

Javanese  language,  literature  in 
the,  139. 

Jeune  FiUe,  La,  176. 

Journal  des  Ecoles  de  Dimanche, 
176. 

Jwarson,  Rev.  J.  J.,  159. 

Kashgar  Turki  language,  litera¬ 
ture  published  in  the,  98. 

Kashmiri  language,  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  126. 

Kaveh,  the,  258. 

Kemal-id-Din,  179. 

[302] 


Keswick  Convention,  message  of, 

55- 

Khirgiz  language,  literature  pub¬ 
lished  in  the,  94. 

Knapp,  G.  I.,  107. 

Koelle,  Dr.,  83. 

Koran,  the,  22,  148. 

Kremer,  Dr.,  36. 

Kurdish  language,  82. 

Kurds,  the,  106. 

Labbars,  the,  131. 

Lamattes,  the,  94. 

Languages,  Abbyserian,  158;  Af¬ 
rican,  154;  areas  of,  different, 
205;  Africa,  North,  208;  Ara¬ 
bia,  206 ;  China,  208 ;  Egypt, 
208;  India,  206;  Malaysia,  209; 
North  Africa,  208;  Syria,  207; 
Turkey,  207;  Bantu,  154,  155; 
Beluchi,  127;  Bengali,  120; 
Berber,  the,  162;  border,  125; 
Burmese,  128;  Chinese,  146; 
English,  178;  English,  among 
the  Indian  Moslems,  124;  Ger¬ 
man,  182;  Gujerati,  129; 
Hausa,  167;  Hindi,  124;  Jav¬ 
anese,  139;  Kashmiri,  126; 
Madurese,  140;  Malay,  136; 
Marathi,  129;  Mussulmani, 
120;  Mussulmani  Punjabi,  123; 
Nupe,  167;  Nyanja,  156;  of 
South  India,  129;  Pushtu,  126; 
Sindi,  124;  Sudanese,  139; 
Swahili,  154;  Tamail,  129;  to 
be  used  in  Insulinde,  139; 
Uganda,  157;  Urdu,  112;  Yao, 
156. 

Lars,  the,  106. 

Le  Chatelier,  Professor  Al.,  18, 
Leitner,  Dr.,  179. 

Leuga  gua,  the,  155. 

Levy,  Reuben,  258. 

Life,  books  on  Christian,  70. 

Life,  literature  on  Christ’s  mes¬ 
sage  for,  59. 

Linguistic  watersheds,  276. 
Literacy,  increasing,  19;  in  the 
Moslem  world,  289 ;  in  the 
Philippines,  145. 


INDEX 


Literature,  a  central  bureau  for, 
272-275 ;  Christian,  and  the 
new  world  of  Islam,  39;  Chris¬ 
tian  Press  and  Islam,  the,  34; 
diglot,  73 ;  existent,  for  Per¬ 
sian  reading  Moslems,  loi ;  lit¬ 
erature  needed,  103;  for  Bal¬ 
kan  Moslems,  79;  for  Persian 
reading  Moslems,  99;  existent 
literature,  loi ;  literature 
needed,  103;  for  the  Bahais, 
105;  for  the  barely  literate,  40; 
for  the  Moslem  mystics,  73 ;  for 
Turanian  Moslems,  79;  in 
India,  conclusions  as  to,  132;  in 
Malaysia,  134;  in  Palestine,  60; 
in  Syria,  60;  in  the  European 
languages  for  Moslems,  173; 
general  conclusions  as  to,  183; 
in  the  Moslem  world,  32;  in 
the  Philippines,  134;  liturgical, 
72;  need  for,  in  colloquial  Ar¬ 
abic,  74;  often  unintelligible  to 
Moslems  even  when  translated, 
47;  problem  of  production,  197; 
summary  of,  210;  purpose  of, 
43,  44 ;  reports  on  literature  for 
Moslems,  37;  scope  of,  41; 
spread  of,  in  Egypt,  54;  sug¬ 
gested  solution  of  the  problem 
of  publication,  220 ;  summary 
of,  in  Persian  language,  109; 
task  of  increasing,  essentially 
spiritual,  277 ;  the  publisher  and 
printer,  223 ;  use  of,  in  Arabic 
language,  48 ;  what  is  needed  in 
Egypt,  58;  of  the  Ahmadiya 
movement,  30;  old  Moslem,  22; 
new  Moslem,  23. 

Literature  Committee,  as  pub¬ 
lisher,  212;  financing  a,  217; 
personnel  of,  215. 

Literature  Committee  of  the 
American  Mission,  52. 

Literature  Committee  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society, 

52. 

Literature  Department  of  the 
Egypt  General  Mission,  52. 

Liturgical  literature,  72. 


Liu  Chi,  149,  150. 

Liwal-el-Islam,  183. 

Loewenthal,  Isador,  107. 

London  Missionary  Society,  138. 
Loti,  Pierre,  30. 

Lucknow  Literature  Committee, 
205. 

Luganda  (see  “Uganda”). 

Lull,  Raymond,  33. 


Maarif,  Mudir  al,  285. 

Macdonald,  D.  B.,  37. 

MacGillivray,  Dr.,  150,  260. 

Madurese  language,  140. 

Magazine  literature,  57. 

Malay  language,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  needed,  143;  entry  of 
Christian  literature  in,  138;  lit¬ 
erature  produced,  141. 

Malaysia,  as  a  part  of  the  Mos¬ 
lem  world,  134;  chief  languages 
of  Moslems  in,  137;  decrease 
of  illiteracy,  17;  new  Moslem 
literature  in,  27;  problem  of 
production  of  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  204 ;  publisher  and 
printer  in,  224. 

Maliki,  the,  288. 

Mansell,  Rev.  Harry  B.,  134. 

Mapillahs,  the,  130. 

Marabouts,  the,  162. 

Marathi  language,  existent  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  129. 

Margoliouth,  Professor,  287. 

Martyn,  Henry,  34,  48. 

Mason,  Rev.  I.,  150. 

Ma  Tang-po,  Mr.,  150. 

Mayer,  Miss  Jenny  de,  82,  92. 

Mecca,  18,  136. 

Mennonites,  German,  in  Russian 
Turkestan,  94. 

Mesnard,  Rev.  J.  A.,  169. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
Press,  139. 

Methods  of  circulation,  book¬ 
shops,  236;  circulation  by  mis¬ 
sionaries  and  associate  work¬ 
ers,  240 ;  colportage,  243 ;  co-op¬ 
eration  in  colportage,  free  dis- 

[303] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


tribution,  234;  mission  hos¬ 
pitals  as  centres  of  distribution, 
242. 

Michell,  B.,  translates  Cur  Deus 
Homo  into  Arabic,  32. 

Mission  boards  concerned  with 
Moslems,  strong  policy  needed, 
189. 

Missionary  bookshops,  237. 

Mizan  al  Haqq,  35. 

Mohammed  ‘Abdu,  grand  Mufti 
of  Egypt,  28. 

Mohammed  ad-Damiri,  48. 

Moplas,  the,  130. 

Morocco,  Christian  literature  in, 
67;  literature  needed,  69;  new 
Moslem  literature  in,  24 ;  spread 
of  literacy  in,  20. 

Moslem  controversy,  the,  56. 

Moslem  literature,  old  and  new, 
28. 

Moslem  Press,  the,  17;  survey  of, 
18. 

Moslem  Sunrise,  The,  182. 

Moslem  Sunshine,  the,  182. 

Moslem  world,  the,  a  new  census 
of,  284;  Africa,  153;  Arabic 
greatest  language  of,  48;  boys 
and  girls  in  the,  41 ;  Christian 
literature  in  the,  32;  Christian 
unity  in,  270;  European  coun¬ 
tries  in  the,  173;  general  con¬ 
clusion  as  to  Christian  litera¬ 
ture,  in  the  Arabic  language, 
71;  learning  to  read,  19;  liter¬ 
ary  in,  289;  statistical  survey 
of,  290;  those  educated  along 
western  lines,  40;  the  Philip¬ 
pines,  134;  unity  of,  269;  why 
a  special  literature  for,  45. 

Moslem  World,  The,  74,  271. 

Moslem  Young  Men’s  Associa¬ 
tion,  148. 

Moslems,  chief  languages  to  be 
used  in  literature  for,  112;  each 
great  European  language  has 
opportunity  of  serving,  183;  in 
Russia,  87;  in  the  Balkans,  91; 
literature  for  secretaries,  66; 
of  Chinese  Turkestan,  91 ;  of 

[304] 


the  Balkans,  95;  population  in 
Asiatic  Turkey,  sample  page  of 
bilingual,  published  in  China, 
29;  the  Bible  for,  55;  why  the 
need  of  special  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  for,  45. 

Motylinski,  M.,  165. 

Muhammadi,  the,  121,  262. 

Muir,  Sir  William,  68. 

Muslim  Standard,  The,  180. 

Mussulman,  The,  262. 

Mussulman!  language  (see  Ben¬ 
gali  language). 

Mussulman!  Punjabi,  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  123. 

Mylrea,  Dr.  C.  S.  G.,  259. 

Mysticism,  literature  on  and  for 
Moslem,  73. 

Mystics,  Christ’s  message  for 
Moslem,  55. 

Near  East,  The,  79. 

New  Life  Society,  266. 

Newspaper  evangelism,  257. 

Nigeria,  Northern,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in,  166. 

Nile  Mission  Press,  the,  33,  52, 
67,  231 ;  noteworthy  features  of 
the  literature  of,  54. 

Noaye  Kristas,  159. 

Northern  Nigeria,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in,  166. 

Nupe  language,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  167. 

Nur  Afshan,  42,  263. 

Nyanja  language,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in  the,  156. 

Ogumbiyi,  Rev.  T.  A.  J.,  168. 

Orient  et  Occident,  42,  175. 

Original  authors  or  the  work  of 
translators?  190. 

Osmanieh  University  of  Hydera¬ 
bad,  1 1 5. 

Osmanli  Turkish  language,  82; 
literature  needed  in  the,  84; 
persons  to  be  reached  by  lit¬ 
erature  in  the,  85. 

Outcastes  Hope,  The,  55. 

Owetaranian,  W.  Johannes,  96. 


INDEX 


Palestine,  Christian  literature  in, 
6o;  problem  of  production  of 
Christian  literature  in,  199. 

Patton,  Cornelius  H.,  173. 

Pennell,  Dr.  T.  L.,  108,  126. 

Periodical  literature,  119. 

Persia,  new  Moslem  literature  in, 
26;  problem  of  production  of 
Christian  literature  in,  202; 
publisher  and  printer  in,  227. 

Persian  language,  Christian  books 
urgently  needed,  104;  existent 
Christian  literature,  loi ; 
groups  using  other  than,  106; 
literature  needed,  103;  sugges¬ 
tions  as  to  books  in  the,  104, 
105;  summary,  109. 

Persian  reading  Moslems,  99. 

Peursem,  Van,  253. 

Pfander,  Gustav,  34,  36,  83. 

Philippines,  the,  as  part  of  the 
Moslem  world,  134;  most  east¬ 
erly  kingdom  of  Islam,  145. 

Pickthall,  Marmaduke,  30. 

Pictures,  133;  and  the  publisher, 
229;  need  for,  74. 

Pieters,  Dr.  Albertus,  257,  259. 

Pocock,  Edward,  60. 

Popley,  Rev.  H.  A.,  73. 

Prayer,  books  of,  66. 

Press,  Henry  Martyn,  109. 

Printer,  and  the  publisher,  223. 

Production,  problem  of,  197; 
summary  of,  210. 

‘‘Provindahs,”  the,  127. 

Publication  (see  also  “Pub¬ 
lisher”),  problem  of,  211;  pub¬ 
lication  committees,  personnel 
of,  212;  suggested  solutions  of 
the  problem  of,  220. 

Publisher,  and  pictures,  229;  and 
the  printer,  223 ;  literature  com¬ 
mittee  as,  212;  personnel  of 
publication  committees,  215; 
problem  of  picking,  21 1. 

Punjab  Religious  Book  Society, 
109. 

Pushtu  language,  107,  126;  exist¬ 
ent  Christian  literature  in,  127. 
Puthij  1 21, 


Rabino,  H.,  258. 

Ravidtans,  the,  131. 

Rayon  de  Soleil,  Le,  176. 

Review  of  Religions,  The,  262. 

Riggs,  C.  T.,  79. 

Ritson,  Dr.,  231. 

Rhodes,  Rev.  F.  E.,  149,  250. 

Roome,  W.  J.  W.,  153,  161,  166. 

Rouse,  Dr.  131. 

Russia,  new  Moslem  literature  in, 
26;  Moslems  in,  87. 

Russian  language,  183. 

Sabah,  the,  83. 

Sadiq,  Dr.  M.  M.,  182. 

Sahara,  the,  Christian  literature 
in  the,  162-165;  literature 
needed,  165. 

Sart  Turkish  language,  literature 
published  in  the,  90. 

Secretaries,  literature  for  Mos¬ 
lem,  66. 

Sell,  Canon  E.,  133,  153. 

Semeur,  Le,  176. 

Senegal,  Christian  literature  in, 
169. 

Sevres,  Peace  Treaty  of,  284. 

Shafa’i,  the,  288. 

Shari-Chad  Protectorate,  the,  161. 

Shellabear,  W.  G.,  140,  142. 

Shi‘ites  (Kisilbashis)  of  Turkey, 
the,  86. 

Shiah  sect,  288. 

Simon,  Gottfried,  136,  288. 

Sindi  language,  existent  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  124. 

Smith,  Rev.  Percy,  69,  72. 

Social  life,  Christ’s  message  for, 
71,  118. 

South  India,  languages  of,  129. 

Southern  Sudan,  the,  Christian 
literature  in,  166. 

Speer,  Dr.  Robert,  108,  no. 

Stanton,  Dr.  Weitbrecht,  109, 
180,  184. 

Star  of  the  East,  The,  105. 

Stories,  need  for,  66,  119,  133; 
Arabic  in  Syria,  63;  lack  of 
stories  in  the  Nile  Mission 
Press,  56. 


[305] 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  AND  ISLAM 


Sudan,  Western,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  169. 

Sudanese  language,  139. 

Sufis,  the,  86. 

Sufism,  23,  26. 

Sunday  school  literature,  57. 

Surat  Habar  Sing  Sug,  145. 

Survey,  the,  44;  personnel  of 
survey  organization,  281. 

Swahili  language,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in,  154. 

Sweet  First  Fruits,  63. 

Syria,  Christian  literature  in,  60; 
literature  needed,  63 ;  new 
Moslem  literature  in,  24;  note¬ 
worthy  features  of  literature 
published  in,  62 ;  problem  of 
production  of  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  199;  publisher  and 
printer  in,  225;  spread  of  lit¬ 
eracy  in,  20. 

Tadjik  language,  82. 

Takle,  Rev.  J.,  121. 

Tamil  language,  existent  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  in,  129. 

Tatar  Kirghiz  language,  litera¬ 
ture  published  in  the,  88. 

Teachers’  books,  70. 

Times,  The,  108. 

Times  Literary  Supplement,  266. 

Touareg,  the,  164. 

Toynbee,  Arnold,  80. 

Translators  or  original  writers? 
190. 

Trowbridge,  Rev.  S.  V.  R.,  86. 

Tucker,  Miss,  42. 

Tunisia,  Christian  literature  in, 
67;  literature  needed,  69;  new 
Moslem  literature  in,  24; 
spread  of  literacy  in,  20. 

Turkey,  new  Moslem  literature 
in,  25 ;  problem  of  production 
of  Christian  literature  in,  201 ; 
publisher  and  printer  in,  226; 
spread  of  literacy  in,  20. 


Turkevich,  Leonid,  89. 

Turkoman  language,  82. 

Uganda  language,  Christian  lit¬ 
erature  in  the,  157. 

Ugolino,  Cardinal,  33. 

United  States,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  for  Moslems  in,  182. 

Unity,  in  the  Moslem  world,  269. 

Upson,  A.  T.,  53,  205,  251,  255. 

Urdu  language,  112;  existent 
Christian  literature  in,  114, 
1 16;  literature  needed,  117; 
suggestions  for  literature  in 
the,  120. 

Verse,  69,  71. 

Wadai,  161. 

Wahhabi  sect,  288. 

Walter,  H.  A.,  181. 

Walton,  Rev.  G.  Murray,  267. 

Watson,  Dr.  Charles  R.,  269. 

Weakley,  Rev.  R.  H.,  83. 

Western  Sudan,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in,  169. 

Werner,  Miss  Alice,  155. 

Western,  F.  W.,  117. 

Western  education  in  Islam,  40. 

^‘What  Happened  Before  the 
Hijra,”  37. 

Wherry,  Dr.  E.  M.,  47,  117,  132. 

White  Wolf,  The,  79. 

William,  Emperor,  285. 

Woking  Press,  180. 

Xavier,  Jerome,  34. 

Yao  language,  Christian  litera¬ 
ture  in  the,  156. 

Y.  W.  C.  A.  of  Cairo,  264. 

Zawias,  the,  162. 

Zwemer,  Rev.  Samuel  M.,  61, 
ISO,  186,  249. 


V 


173  0571 


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